Galaxy Angel Retold
by StevieBond
Summary: Based on the Manga story of Galaxy Angels. A crew member tells his story of how several events made him go from being just a guy who worked on varied shifts to become one of the top emblem frame pilots and earning love along the way. This story will be going down the Ranpha route with Ranpha becoming Takuto's girlfriend, whilst the OC male guy will have a love interest in Milfie.
1. Who Am I?

**StevieBond: Hello folks, this is my first ever story published on here, so please be easy on me.**

 **Arnold: Please be easy on me as well, I'm just a character.**

 **StevieBond: Before we begin, a little disclaimer just to be safe. I do not own anything to do with Galaxy Angel, enjoy reading.**

* * *

Who Am I?

My name is Arnold Williams. Heh, what a way to start a story, with just a name and the sound of my imaginative voice. Who I am may be a little different from what I do, maybe it was fate or a coincidence, but those things are best left unasked. I work as part of the maintenance crew on aboard perhaps the most popular and recognisable ship across the galaxy, The Elsior. A huge carrier ship that can fire back in case enemy ships try to attack.

Wait, that's not exactly the truth, the ship has far much more than that. It had the bridge, a commander's room and a virtual park on one part of the ship which when I first heard about it, I thought it was all crazy. Another section has the cafeteria, lounge room, convenience store and a circle area where there's an elevator. A third section is where there's a warehouse, a gym, medical room, the engine room, whale room and the hanger where the small fighters are stored.

The fourth section is the crew area for the five girls and in this case, someone of royalty who's on the ship. This is the only part where I have not visited the most since I only work on the lower floors on the ship. Most of the time, I'm needed around the hanger, but I often do work at the Warehouse as well as help out with supplies for the Whale Room and the Infirmary.

Those small crafts…or Emblem Frames as they often call it are part of the Angel Wing, something to do with Lost Technology and these were the protection of The White Moon, led by Lady Shatyarn.

But that's not all, since I was part of the crew assigned to the Elsior, I also got to know and learn about the five girls who each pilot an Emblem frame and they're all different from each other and this was what I knew so far.

Milfeulle Sakuraba, 18 years of age with strawberry hair. A very positive person who puts on a smile, will always cheer you up whenever you're down and loves to cook. She's also known to be very lucky, whether it's good or bad is debatable, when I first met her, she was very nice to me.

Ranpha Franboise, 19 years of age with blonde hair. Very energetic and likes to be fit, she's also quite the superstitious type who loves fortune telling and is a helpless romantic. But get on her bad side and she won't hesitate to use her martial arts to beat the crap out of you.

Mint Blamanche, 17 years of age with blue hair. The only daughter of the Blamanche Corporation owned by her father. She's quite elegant and likes drinking tea. She also has a second pair of bunny ears and is telepathic as well. She may be short, but she can be quite intelligent and I once heard that she likes dressing up in animal costumes.

Forte Stollen, the eldest of the group at 22 with red hair and leader of the Angel Wing. Strong, confident and someone who will always have your back as long you have hers in return. She also has a huge range of guns in her collection, the ship has a target range room which is made specifically for her and always has a gun hidden just in case.

And Vanilla H, the youngest of the angels at just 14 with green hair. Very quiet, mostly glum and doesn't speak often unless she is asked by someone or if she is curious about something. But that's just one side of her, she is indeed the most reliable when it comes to her healing power thanks to her Nanomachines.

Each of the girls were unique and they're all excellent at using their Emblem frames in combat, well based on what I've seen and heard whenever there's a battle going on and for the last few weeks there had been a lot of battles.

During the 412th year of the Transbaal Calendar, a war had broken out. The Transbaal Empire was under attack by a large enemy force that was commanded by Lord Eonia. He was banished by King Gerard a long time ago, but why and how Eonia was able to strike at the Empire with such a force remains a mystery.

All I knew was that when the Empire homeworld was destroyed, there was only one member of the family that wasn't there at the time, Prince Shiva. He and a maid who served him was on this ship and Commodore Luft was given temporary command of the Elsior and Angel Wing as well as a mission, which was to escort Prince Shiva to the Rhome system.

When he made the statement that he was taking temporary command, I only assumed that he'll be in charge until he found someone else to take over, but what else do I know. I'm just a maintenance crew worker and that's all I do.

Today was just a normal day on the ship, it was my turn to work in the hanger with Creta who oversees what goes on here. I was always in awe when I looked at the Emblem Frames, the five of them were all different and ideal for various combat situations.

The Lucky Star, piloted by Milfeulle is the most well-rounded and versatile craft that can hold her own in many ways, especially when she activates her hyper cannon. Ranpha's Kung-Fu Fighter is the fastest and can out manoeuvre almost anything, but it also has the weakest armour, her Anchor Claw is one of a kind as it literally punches an enemy ship in a one-two hit combo.

Trick Master works well with the radar and Mint has her little fliers that serve as weapons. But when they start doing the Flier Dance, several ships in their range don't tend to last long. Happy Trigger boasts the toughest armour as well as the biggest amount of firepower, but it's also the slowest. Give Forte a group of enemy ships however and her Strike Burst will take them down with ease.

And lastly, but not least, the Harvester. It has the fewest offensive capabilities, but is equipped with a shield on the side. It is the only emblem frame that can repair other Emblem frames during battle. When Vanilla is able to, she calls in Repair Wave which repairs all Emblem Frames, allowing the angels to continue to fight.

As I was working on shelving the armour plating, I noticed the girls walking in and each of them going to their Emblem Frames. I felt curious, but thought better of it as there was no way I could be anything more than what I can do.

But then again, it wouldn't hurt to try and strike up a conversation, so I looked at them.

"Oh hi Arnold." Milfie greeted with a smile.

"Hi Milfie." I replied with a smile. Yes, I was one of the few who was able to call her Milfie since it saves time saying her full first name. "Another battle coming up?"

"Yep, but we're always ready and that we can do it if we work together."

"Oi Milfie, I'm the one who does the rally messaging." Forte intervened. "Let's go girls, we have a man to go and find."

The others nodded as they went to their emblem frames and then the hanger doors opened, the frames were lowered down by gripped claws and once the frames were on, the claws let go and they were all out of there.

Normally, it would be a normal battle but hearing that they were going out to look for a man, I was more curious on what they meant. But I got that thought out of my head as Crete looked at my way, thinking I wasn't doing my job.

I went back to work and pushed the matter no further, cause that's what I am, a maintenance crew worker…or so I thought.

* * *

Sometime had passed and things were quiet until the hanger doors opened, in came the Emblem Frames and I noticed there were a few scrapes on Milfie's, Ranpha's and Forte's frames. Nothing too serious and damaging, can get them all repaired in under half an hour.

Then I saw a Cruiser landing in on an empty spot, the hanger doors closed behind it and then a small door opened by the side of the cruiser. There were two men that came out as they walked out. One was a medium height guy with navy blue hair and the other was a taller guy with white hair and a patch over his left eye.

"We're here." The white hair guy said. "So, this is the Elsior."

"Amazing and this is just the hanger." The blue guy replied who was amazed at the scale of the ship. "Oh, it's the same crest as the Emblem Frames. Compared to here, they don't seem so big.

The girls then came over to him, greeting him and all, is this the guy they were talking about? Just then, Commodore Luft came in and joined in the conversation as I stayed focused on my work.

Due to my impressive hearing, I gathered a bit of information. The blue haired guy was called Tact Mayers who was in command of the second fleet and his aide was Lester Coolduras, I still didn't know why they were brought here, but then I thought to give it time for now.

"Well done, Angel Wing." I heard Luft praise. "Get some rest for now. Tact, Lester, follow me."

I watched as Luft, Tact and Lester left the hanger, soon the girls followed, well almost all of them.

"So Arnold, we have a new person on the ship, isn't that cool?" Milfie asked happily.

"Well, I don't know him at all so I can't answer that yet." I replied. "Anyways, you want me to start repairs?"

"Sure, start with my Lucky Star if you want." Milfie then began to leave. "Thank you."

I smiled back, watching her leave. "You're very much welcome." I replied to myself. Grabbing my tools and beginning to work on the Lucky Star emblem frame whilst a few others went to work on the other two that needed a bit of repairs.

My work on the Lucky Star was done after several minutes…and suddenly the sirens went off, guess I got it done in time too. Trouble was approaching and fast, I grabbed my tools and got off the frame and stood aside as soon as the girls rushed in.

"Out of the way, Arnold, we need to get out fast!" Ranpha said, running past me.

"Let me guess, enemy ships?" I asked.

"Yes." Vanilla replied. "We must go now."

I moved further away as they rushed into their frames and got ready for take-off before the upcoming battle, soon the hanger doors opened and as before, out they went.

Moments later, they came back successfully and left the hanger, probably to go to the bridge to be debriefed or something. I paid nothing of it and went to work on repairs again with the crew.

Creta then spoke to me, saying it was time for the crew change. Looks like my team was needed elsewhere and another team would take over. There were loads of crew members on the ship and each of us were divided into groups to makes our work shifts easier and varied.

My team was shifted to the engine room, I remembered that some parts of the engine were in need of repairs since the Elsior took some pretty damage as we were travelling across the Transbaal galaxy, trying to escape from Eonia's fleet several times.

We soon got to work on what needed repairing in the engine room and this was gonna take a long while, probably much more than half an hour. Just then, I saw Tact and Milfie walk in.

"This is the engine room, it's quite big don't you think?" Milfie asked him.

"Yeah, without this place, we'd be sitting ducks." Tact replied. "By the way, I hope they finish repairing soon."

"Yeah, we'd be in the way here, shall we go?"

"Sure, take me to the next free room."

Just then Milfie saw me. "Hi Arnold, don't work too hard."

"Hehe, I won't." I replied, giggling slightly.

Yep, out of all of the girls, Milfie seemed to have the most chance to talk to me. It was like that since we met a long time ago when I first came to the Elsior. Her pink hair and the little pink wreath she had on her head was pretty cute and I liked her.

I considered her as a very good friend, probably more than the other girls who knew me and was aware of my presence and responsibility. Then I heard a beep from the speakers.

"Commander Mayers and Angel Wing pilots, please report to the bridge immediately." I knew that voice already, it was Almo, the communications officer. Coco was the other girl who worked on the bridge who is in charge of the radar and enemy ship info. It sounded like it was serious, good thing I don't have to deal with any of what goes on up there.

Then, several minutes later, there was another beep.

"Attention all personnel." Tact spoke. "Suspend your duties and report to the nearest monitor." I did so, and placed my eyes on a monitor screen. "All hands, for Commodore Luft's brave officers and men, salute!"

"Be safe Commodore Luft." I heard Lester say over the speaker.

Wait, has the Commodore left the Elsior…looks like he did find someone to take command of the ship after all. I could tell that things were going to be a little different around here.

Soon, all the repairs in the engine room were finished and I sent a message to the bridge to confirm the job was done and that we were ready to move and enter Chrono Drive.

We got a reply, saying that we could rest now. I was glad, the work I had today was beginning to catch up to me. I walked from the engine room and all the way to the cafeteria. As I sat down with my chosen meal which was the cream pasta that Milfie suggested the other day, I began to have some thoughts about what I was really doing.

Am I just a normal crew member with a very good friend…or does fate have something in store for me and that I have not a clue about it, believing that it's gonna strike me in the face when I don't see it?

I ate away, not losing focus of my thoughts until I was finished and somewhat full. Pasta really does fill you up, guess I didn't need the garlic bread after all. I sat back and breathed a huge sigh, then again maybe what I have now is good.

Milfie then came on by and she was in her apron, looks like it was cooking time for her in the kitchen, I wonder if she needed some help today.

"Hi Milfie." I said. "Do you want my help?"

Milfie gasped slightly. "Really? You would help me bake?"

"Sure, I'm not on my shift right now so I have free time."

"Wow, thanks Arnold, then come with me." Milfie grabbed my wrist and took me to the kitchen. "Here, put this apron on."

"Oh hello there, Milfie." I heard the cafeteria lady say, she was a nice woman and is the head chef. "And hello to you, Arnold."

I put on an apron as Milfie pulled out a cook book. "Hello miss. I'm off duty so I'm helping Milfie with baking something."

"Ahhh, that's very kind of you. I knew one day you would be in the kitchen with her." She then walked away, seeing someone else that needed her attention.

"Wait, what did she mean by that?" I muttered.

"Arnold, ready to get started?" Milfie asked.

"Sure, what is it we're baking today?"

Milfie opened the cook book. "A cake, it's for a picnic to help Tact get to know the angels, it's a big responsibility for him now."

I looked at the cake we were gonna make. "Oh I see, that will explain why Commodore Luft left the Elsior earlier."

"Yes, Tact is now in charge of the ship as well as escorting Prince Shiva until we reach Rhome."

"Right, what do you think of him so far?"

"He seems like a great commander and is always cheerful. He's done very well with us in battle so far."

That would also explain why there wasn't much damage on show in the last battle before, he must be a superb commander. I now began to wonder if I could be just as good as he is.

"That's good to know. Anyways, shall we get the ingredients?"

"Yeah, let's get cooking."

Once we had the ingredients together and the measurements right, the mixture looked ready to be put in the oven. I took the honour of putting it in gently with oven gloves on, closing the door. Now we had to wait for the cake to be baked.

Just then, clarified evidence of Milfie's luck kicked in. The oven was beginning to smoke up and I could already tell this was gonna end badly.

"Uh oh." I said. "Milfie, get down!"

"Ack!" she exclaimed as I ran to her and grabbed her in my arms, moving her far away from the oven until.

*KA-BOOM!*

Milfie had her eyes closed as we got out of the kitchen, with me still holding on to her. Once we were safely away from the oven which was now completely wrecked as well as the cake inside that was now in cinders, I let her go.

"Cough, cough!" I said. "That was a close one…are you okay?"

"Cough, cough, yes I'm alright, thanks." Milfie replied as she hugged me. "Awww our cake and you worked so well on it."

I smiled, taking off my apron. "I know, but it's alright, we'll make another cake another time, I'm sure Tact will understand."

"Oh right, I've gotta go and see Tact. I hope he invited the other girls." Milfie said, leaving the cafeteria. "But first, I've gotta change back. I'll see you soon, Arnold."

"Yeah see you Milfie." I replied.

No sooner she left, the cafeteria lady showed up and I was a little worried. "Don't worry about the oven, it was part of Milfie's luck as always, right?"

She was right, Milfie luck can be good and bad and it was unfortunate on this occasion that it was bad luck. But still, Milfie keeps on being positive and happy, which made me become very good friends with her in the first place.

* * *

 **Alright, for those who've seen this story already, let me explain the edits.**

 **This was my very first story shared on here and it's in need of a clean-up, so I've merged some of the chapters into one to make it look nicer. :)**


	2. Luck & Fortune

Luck & Fortune

I was resting away in my own quarters, unable to stop thinking about Milfie when the sirens went off. How could that be, we're in Chrono Drive…unless it was set for a period of time before drifting back to normal space.

Looks like trouble was on the rise again, travelling in normal space is getting less safe every day and I prayed that this war gets brought to an end soon.

Then I received a call on my small earpiece. "Arnold, can you hear me?" Creta asked.

"What's up Creta?" I asked, getting off my bed.

"There's an engine issue with Milfie's Lucky Star, there's no power and it cannot take off." I bit my lip, the bad luck keeps on coming. "She's made a request for you to come to the hanger."

"Alright, I'll be at the hanger as quick as possible." I replied, ending the call as I rushed out of my quarters and all the way to the hanger.

I grabbed my trusty toolbox and jogged over to the Lucky Star, Milfie was happy to see me as I got straight to work on the engine. I opened up the hatch that sealed the engine and as I expected, one of the fuses inside had given out and looked busted.

"Looks like a fuse has gone out, Milfie." I said. "Just give me a while to replace it and your frame's engine should work again."

"Okay Arnold, take your time but don't be too long." Milfie replied. "The other girls are out dealing with enemy ships."

Thankfully, my toolbox had a spare clean fuse that could be used to replace the broken one. I knew time was not on my side, not to mention that the other four girls were out there taking care of the enemy ships.

With my trusty gloves on, I took out the busted fuse and gave it to a spare crew member who was checking over the weapons, just in case. I grabbed the clean fuse from my toolbox and slotted it in. It fit perfectly as I locked it in, flipped on the fuse engine switch and closed the hatch with my screws.

It took a while, but the engine job was done. "Alright, the fuse has been replaced, how's it looking?" I asked.

Suddenly the whirring noise of the frames engine began to fire up. I guess my question was answered.

"Yay!" Milfie said happily. "We did it! Unit #1, Lucky Star's engine has recovered. Ready to take off."

"Arnold, you are a miracle!" Creta praised.

"It was nothing, just doing my job well." I replied.

I stood well back with my toolbox and watched as the Lucky Star began to move, the hanger doors opened and out she went. I had a feeling that she was gonna be on top form right now.

Soon, all the girls were back and they were mostly satisfied with the outcome. As they got out of their frames, Milfie ran over to me as the other girls walked towards me.

"Arnold!" she exclaimed, wrapping me in a hug which took me by surprise. "You're the best, thank you so much!"

"It's alright, Milfie." I replied, laughing nervously as we pulled out of the hug. "I was just doing my job, there's nothing to it."

"Riiiiiiight." I heard Ranpha smirk. "Or was it because of Milfie's luck?"

The moment she mentioned her name, I began blushing a little, but why was I?

"I saw that blush." Mint said. "Is there something up?"

"What do you mean, Mint." I replied. "I always blush whenever I get praised."

"Well, that is true." Vanilla said. "You have blushed more than five times."

"Really? You've been counting how often I blush?" I then blushed again.

"Better make it six times now, haha." Forte teased. "Alright girls, let's leave him be. We gotta go to the bridge."

The girls nodded as they left the hanger, all smiling at me, especially Milfie who just seemed really happy, I wasn't sure but I thought she was blushing too.

"Hey Arnold." Creta said. "Are you and Milfie getting a little friendly?"

"Wait, what?" I asked, jumping a tiny bit.

Crete chuckled. "It seems that you're getting along with her more than the rest of us."

"Please, d-d-don't make me feel shy."

"I'm not trying to. I'm just teasing you." Creta smiled. "Anyways, your work is done, you can go back to rest."

"Yeah, thanks."

Putting away my toolbox, I left the hanger and walked back to my crew quarters. As I relaxed on my bed and dived into my thoughts, I was interrupted once again, this time with a knock on my door.

"Come on in." I said.

The door opened and to my surprise, it was Tact Mayers, the new commander.

I was startled as I got off my bed and saluted him. "Oh hello Commander Mayers!"

"Hi there, it's alright." He laughed. "Relax a little bit, I don't like titles and formalities."

This had me curious, here is the Elsior's new commander but he seems relaxed about it. "I'll try to uhhh…"

"Tact, you can just call me Tact." He replied. "You probably already know that I'm the commander of the ship."

"Yes Tact. I heard that you took over when commodore Luft left the ship. So what brings you to my quarters?"

"Ah yes, I wanted to meet the person who fixed Milfie's engine problem with such speed and skill." He said, positively. "She was praising you a lot, which made the other girls begin to feel a little jealous."

"I see, so Milfie thinks very highly of me like that?"

"She sure does and from where I stand, I think there's more to you than just a crew member. So I have a bit of advice for you."

"Advice?"

"Yeah, don't be shy of the angels. Thanks to my command, they're the finest pilots of the galaxy, but they're also my friends too. You should become very close friends with all of them, not just Milfie."

Tact had a very good point, aside from Milfie, I didn't know much more about the others apart from what I know. Maybe it was time for me to stop being shy and join in with the girls a lot more.

I smiled at him. "You're right Tact, thanks for the advice. Maybe it's time I did take another step forward. Although if I was a piloting an Emblem Frame, I would be close friends with all of them instantly."

Tact chuckled. "But seriously, the work that you do here is amazing. So just between you and me, if you see the girls and they call you over, join in. You never know, you might become very close to one of them."

I blushed. "Uhh, how did you know that?"

"With the way Milfie was talking about you, it wasn't hard to figure out."

"Oh I see…then between you and me, is there anyone on the ship you like?"

"I think it's too early for me to say that, I'm getting to know the angels, but I'm not really there, yet.

"Oh, I was curious, you take care, Tact."

"Alright Arnold…yeah she told me your name too. Bye for now." Tact then left my quarters.

So he knows my name now, did Milfie tell him how old I was and what my birthday is. Nah, I was just kidding to myself. Milfie is such a nice girl and very sweet, she wouldn't say stuff like that without my permission.

I was starting to accept a bit of what I was thinking, I really like Milfie.

* * *

A few days had passed since the last battle, things were very quiet on the ship, but the working shifts remained the same. I was on my regular break and thinking back to what Tact said to me, I thought that today shall be the day where I become more of a friend to the angels.

Maybe today, something good will come out of it between me and Milfie. I left my quarters and walked over to the tea lounge to find the girls reading a magazine, I assumed it was another one of those horoscope ones that Ranpha likes.

The girls noticed me before I could say anything.

"Hi Arnold." Milfie greeted. "Come and sit here."

I smiled back. "Sure, I'd love to." I walked on over and sat by her on another table, close to the other girls. "Lemme guess, Ranpha, another horoscope article?"

"Yep, yep." Ranpha replied.

I only noticed then that one was missing. "Wait, is Vanilla not with you?"

"She's busy in the infirmary right now." Forte replied.

Ranpha perked up. "Say Arnold, would you like to hear your fortune?"

"My fortune?"

"Yeah, I'm sure you wanna know about your future."

Quickly looking at Milfie and then back at Ranpha, I guess that it wouldn't hurt to know. "Sure, why not."

"Alright, what is your star sign?"

"Cancer."

"Your favourite hobby is working, right?"

"Yep."

Ranpha looked through the magazine and found what she was looking for. "Oooh, this is very interesting."

"What does it say?" I asked.

"Your brain is getting active right now. You want stimulation! To get it, you might have to strike out on your own and search for a unique experience that will give your brain the challenge it wants."

"Oh wow, that's quite a prediction." Mint commented.

"Yeah, that one is pretty good." Forte added.

"Okay then, now it's my turn." Milfie declared.

Just then, Tact showed up and joined us. "Yo, what's going on?"

"Ah Tact, Ranpha's checking our horoscopes with this magazine."

Tact then saw me. "Oh hi there Arnold, good to see you with the girls." He looked back at the magazine. "Let's see…Madam's Guide: The road to a beautiful future?"

"It's amazingly accurate." Forte said.

"Obviously, this is Madame Guapre's fortune telling after all." Ranpha replied.

I suddenly heard a beep from my earpiece. "Yes, go ahead."

"Hi Arnold, its Doctor Cera, please come to the infirmary."

"Got it, I'm on my way." I ended the call. "Oh that's right, today is my first monthly check-up, sorry girls, but I have to go now."

"Alright, don't work too hard." Mint replied.

"And don't forget about your fortune." Ranpha added. "Okay, Milfie, let's do yours…"

I left the lounge but not giving a wave to Milfie who waved back. I walked over to the infirmary to see Doctor Cera and Vanilla.

"Hello Arnold, ready for your monthly check up?" Cera asked.

"Yeah, this is my first one." I replied. "Hi Vanilla."

"Hello Arnold." She replied. "Just relax on the bed."

I did so, getting on the bed as Cera brought out a clipboard and sat beside me.

"So how is your body feeling, since we are on a travelling space ship?"

"It feels good, I'm not getting any motion sickness."

Vanilla used her Nanomachines to study my body functions.

"Okay, do you have any mental or physical pain that happens a week or daily?"

"No I don't have either of those. Although I once worked a bit too hard and ended up spraining both of my ankles."

"That's perfectly normal. Excessive movement or weight on a body part can lead to a sprain. Do you have any issues with digestion and consumption?"

"No problems, I am able to eat well and healthy."

"Your calorie intake today is 741." Vanilla said, still studying my body. "Your average calorie intake is 898."

"Hmm, that's quite a low calorie level for a male." Cera added. "How much sugar do you consume on a daily basis?"

"I try to keep a limit so that I don't have to worry about my calories." I replied. "So right now, I don't take as much sugar as everyone else does."

"I see, I asked you that because I'm a little concerned that you're not getting enough sugar." She finished writing down on her clipboard. "My health advice is to start consuming food with a bit more sugar, so as to prevent your sugar levels from falling too low."

"Alright Doctor." I nodded. "I'll try to get it up a little and I think I know how."

"Milfie's food?" Vanilla asked suddenly before turning away. "Oh uh I mean…forgive me."

"No you're right, Vanilla. Maybe she can help me out."

"In that case, your check-up is done, Arnold." Cera said. "You can leave now, but do take care of yourself and we'll do this again next month."

"Okay, see you Doctor, see you Vanilla."

I left the infirmary and went back to the lounge, there was only Forte present.

"Hey again Arnold." She said.

"Hi Forte, do you know where Milfie is?" I asked.

"She went to her room on the C Block, why do you ask?"

I looked away a little. "It's not much…"

Forte smirked. "Awww I see, starting to feel lonely without her, are we?"

"T-t-t-that's not what I meant."

"Haha!" Forte laughed. "Well anyways, if you ask her real nice, maybe she'll let you in."

"Well who knows, thanks anyway."

As I was about to leave she called me. "Oh and one other thing…fancy a bit of target practice later?"

"What, you mean a shoot-out in your firing range?" I asked.

"Yeah, I think you have something hidden inside, this could be a good start for you."

"I'll have a think about it and come by later."

"Good answer, now go get her, Romeo." Forte laughed.

As I left, I couldn't help but blush and laugh on the inside. Seems my feelings towards Milfie were beginning to be a dead giveaway, I should be more careful or maybe they're too smart for me.

I walked upstairs to the C-block area and here I was, in front of the girls rooms. I had walked past this hallway of doors once when I first stood on the Elsior, but I had never seen the girls' rooms before and for good reason.

I'm just a crew member and there are rules for where we can and cannot go to and an angel's room is no exception. But then again, I don't wanna risk having a very low sugar level, so I sighed and knocked on her door.

"Who is it?" Milfie asked from the other side.

"It's me, Arnold." I replied. Here goes nothing… "Uhhh, this may seem sudden, but mind if I come in?"

I had never felt so dumb for asking a question that stupid, why did I think of that-

"Yes, come on in, it's not locked. I'm in the middle of cooking."

My face perked up, I felt relieved that the worst outcome didn't happen. I opened the door and walked in to Milfie's room which looked very bright and cheerful.

"Something smells good, what's cooking?" I asked.

"The strawberry cake we didn't get to make last time." She replied. "So how did the check-up go?"

"It was okay, however Doctor Cera advised me to bring my sugar level up a bit, because it seems to be somewhat low. I was wondering if your cooking would be able to help me."

Milfie blushed. "You want me to help?"

"Well yeah, with your cakes and me helping you bake them, I should be able to have a more reasonable sugar level and stay healthy at the same time."

"In that case, I'll gladly help and thank you for saying you'll help me too."

"Of course, we can do anything if we work together."

Just then, a ding went off by the oven.

"Oh! It's done this time." She brought out a pair of gloves and took out the cake that looked really tasty.

"You are amazing." I said, making her blush…oh crud!


	3. Destined Combat

Destined Combat

I had made Milfie blush in her room, which was not quite what I had in mind.

Suddenly, sirens went off across the ship, well that was good timing I thought.

"Enemy missile rapidly approaching the Elsior." Coco warned. "We can't dodge it!"

"All hands brace for impact." Almo added. "It's going to be a direct hit!"

*BOOM*

The ship shook a little, I was nearly thrown off my feet and as luck would have it, Milfie lost her balance and fell on top of me.

"Ouch…" I muttered.

"Oh my…sorry Arnold." Milfie said. "Are you okay?"

"Yeah, it's nothing." I got up and helped her up with my hand. "We better get to the hanger quick."

"Okay, let's go."

We left her room in a hurry and rushed over to the hanger.

"What the?!" I exclaimed.

A corner of the hanger had been damaged and a huge pillar laid on top of three emblem frames. Milfie's and Ranpha's however seemed to be okay and unharmed.

"Arnold, good thing that you're here." Creta said. "We need your help with the crew in moving that broken pillar away."

"Looks way too big for me to move on my own. Isn't there a kind of ship I could use?"

Creta sighed. "I'm afraid not."

"Mam." One of the female workers said. "What about the silver ship in the opposite corner that we had been secretly working on?"

"You mean our emblem frame prototype?" Crete asked. "But it's not ready yet, we don't even know if it's combat worthy."

"Is it able to respond to anyone who touches it?" I asked.

"No, we've all had our hands on it, but it has never responded."

"Shall I try it?"

"Make it quick, Mint, Forte and Vanilla need help."

As soon as I walked over to the prototype that was just sitting there, the hanger doors opened and the Lucky Star and Kung-Fu Fighter flew out, I had a feeling they were going to be okay.

As they closed, I gazed at the emblem frame, it had the Unit #8 marked on both sides, and it was shaped like a griffon. The weapon features were a gattling gun on both sides and two heat seeker launchers on each side slapped at the top part.

There was also a large sized and possibly menacing drill on the bottom and if I know the Emblem frames well, that must be its special attack. As soon as I put my hand on it, it suddenly started to glow.

I then heard a voice from somewhere.

 _You have found your destiny…go and pilot the frame. Use it to clear what stands in your way and show your enemies the power of the Emblem Frame!_

The voice sounded quite elegant and full of courage. I placed both hands on the frame and it began to power up, the cockpit door opened and I sat inside. I had no idea what was going on, but as I was looking at the controls, I got a feel of the frame quite quickly.

"Arnold, is that you inside the frame?!" Creta exclaimed on a screen monitor. "What is going on?"

"We can answer that later." I replied. "Right now, I need you to open the hanger doors so I can swoop out and help Milfie and Ranpha."

Creta wanted to push the matter further, but she nodded and then the hanger doors open. As I flew from my landing pad, I moved out of the hanger slowly and carefully, noticing Mint, Forte and Vanilla who were completely shocked.

Once I was out of the ship, I turned the frame and waved at them. "It's okay girls, I got it from here." I said as I swung back and noticed that Milfie and Ranpha were currently in combat with two enemy fighters.

Soon, they were in a stand-off, this was my moment to make a move. I launched a few heat seeker missiles and my gattling guns, which got their attention.

"What the heck?!" Milfie exclaimed. "Is that an Emblem Frame?"

"It sure is." Ranpha replied. "But I-I've never seen that before."

"Hey there girls. I'm coming to the rescue."

"Arnold?!" Both girls asked in shock.

I swung my frame at the two enemy fighters who were stunned. "Anyways, you two over there…you wanna dance with my driller?" I asked, trying to intimidate them.

"Hmmm, this isn't the right time." One of them said. "Fall back, Guinness."

"Yo Camus." The other guy replied. "I got it."

"Hey where you two going, I'm just getting started!" I yelled to them.

"Well, it seems that we have a new angel to deal with, we must be going now." Camus said. "The next time we meet my honey, I'll give you the most beautiful kill."

"Woah there!" I exclaimed. "I ain't your honey and I certainly ain't your momma."

I heard Milfie laughing on my monitor.

"Woah, this guy's got attitude!" Guinness commented. "Anyways, not too bad eh Ranpha? I'll accept you as my eternal rival."

"This guy says I have attitude?" I asked, rolling my eyes. "Oh the irony."

Camus and Guinness said no more as they turned tail and flew away in their fighters.

Tact then appeared on my screen. "Emblem frames, withdraw and return to the hanger." He looked at me. "And Arnold, we're gonna talk about this later."

"I understand." I replied as we flew back to the ship and inside the hanger.

To my surprise, the pillar had been moved to one side so the other three frames can move again. However, I felt bad for not doing what my original job was and that was to help clear the mess left by the missile attack.

"Arnold!" Creta exclaimed as I got out of my frame. "How did you do it?"

"It just responded to me and that's it." I replied.

Soon the other angels came towards me as soon as Tact showed up.

"Well I never." Mint said. "Who would've thought you would be piloting a frame?"

"It is quite a shock." Vanilla added.

"You also handled those two and were able to attack with ease." Forte said before chuckling. "Well, so much for the target practice."

"I think I still need that, they were still but next time it won't be easy." I assured.

"Anyways, what was with that Guinness guy, I'm pissed off!" Ranpha exclaimed.

"Awww that was so embarrassing." Milfie moaned. "Everyone please forget what you heard."

"It's okay Milfie." Tact assured. "No one would make fun of you for that." He then turned to me. "Arnold, we need to talk, come with me to the bridge, we'll be in Chrono drive soon."

I nodded and we left the hanger and walked up to the bridge where Lester was standing who looked at me with a stern expression, I guess he doesn't get out much.

"Right Arnold, I want to know a few things." Tact said. "Why and how were you able to fly an emblem frame?"

"Yeah, it doesn't make sense for a normal crew worker to just suddenly pilot a frame and fly in battle, even if it was short." Lester added.

"I just don't know." I replied innocently. "One moment, I put my hand on it and it suddenly began to power up as if it was calling to me. Then I heard a distant voice telling me that I had found my destiny or something, but that can't be right."

"Destiny? Sounds like a world of fantasy to me." Lester dismissed. "But even so, piloting an emblem frame or not, you are just a maintenance crew worker and we have rules on this ship for a reason."

"Lester, you made your point." Tact intervened. "Now I have a point to make too."

"Just before you do, aren't you gonna lay me off yet?"

"Oh yeah, we're changing shifts now. Alright Lester, you head off and relax."

Lester nodded. "Got it…and you Arnold. I'm keeping an eye on you." With that, he left the bridge.

"Sorry about that." Tact said. "He can be quite merciless. Now I saw you attacking with those weapons, you were able to hit them both. That is the kind of fighter I need on the angel wing."

"Angel wing?" I asked with surprise.

"Commander Mayers, are you serious?" Coco asked.

"I am right now." Tact replied with a serious expression. "As commander of the ship, I am changing your employment status. From this day forward, you will no longer work as a maintenance crew member. You are now part of the Angel Wing!"

I stood back in awe of his words…I am now one of them, is that what my destiny is?

* * *

As I left the bridge, I was in a state of surprise. I couldn't believe what I just heard. I am now a member of the angel wing. That means I have to go and tell Forte about it and then tell Creta in the hanger afterwards. I may also have to have an audience with Prince Shiva, so many things going in my head at once.

Well, I better get to it. I walked down the stairs and to the firing range. I was glad that Forte was still there as I walked in. She had two pistols in her hands.

"Hey Arnold. Good to finally see you made it." She said.

"Hi Forte, I did say I would keep to my word." I replied, closing the door behind me.

"Which is a good thing. So are you ready for your first target practice?"

"Yeah, what kind of weapon will I be using?"

"This one." She handed me a gun over. "This is the .357 Desert Eagle."

I blinked. "It looks like a heavy duty pistol."

"It is quite a powerful pistol. However for the purposes of this target practice, it is armed with rubber bullets."

"That's good to know."

"Then shall we start?"

I nodded, Forte went over to a switch as I put on headphones to dampen the noise.

The target practice lasted for some time, I didn't even focus on looking around me, but thought not to and stayed focused on my targets which were all normal human targets. That sort of helps, but if the cut-outs were ships, maybe it would help more.

Soon, the firing was over as the lights above me came on. Forte was standing by the switch and turned off the settings.

She walked by me as I put the pistol down and observed the targets I took out.

"Not too bad." Forte commented. "Your accuracy is very impressive. Are you sure you haven't done this before?"

"I'm positive." I replied. "It's all about focusing and waiting to attack at the right time."

"You are correct on both of those points. But learning to convert that accuracy from guns to piloting a ship's weapons is another matter. I believe you are ready for the simulation room."

"You mean the room with those big spheres that I once saw?"

"Yes, those are simulation pods. Once you get inside one, the simulation activates and it gives you a random objective and at the end, a battle result is displayed."

"That sounds cool!"

"Getting excited, you should be."

Forte left the firing range with me and we walked over to the simulation room which was past the engine room.

"Here we are and there's only three simulation pods, the ship cannot carry anymore for some reason."

"As long as there's only one of me, that shouldn't be a problem right?"

Forte smirked. "No complaints there. Now get inside a pod, mister."

I nodded, climbing into one and no sooner I settled in the seat, I heard a distant scream.

"What was that?" I asked suddenly.

"It sounded like Ranpha." Forte replied. "You stay put in that pod, I'll be right back."

Forte then ran off whilst I concentrated on the simulation.

So my objective was to destroy a group of enemy ships within the time limit on an empty open space field. They were listed as Destroyers and Cruisers, the info displayed them as automated so they weren't piloted by humans.

It was a first level difficulty and being my first time, this shouldn't be too problematic.

As it started, I looked around and it did feel like I was in my Emblem frame, but I had no time to soak in the scenery of space, I had to get ready to fight.

The time began to count down as I moved my simulated ship around the combat area, I looked on my radar on my top left to note the ships locations. There were three destroyers and three cruisers.

I locked in my first target, a destroyer and unleashed my gattling guns on it, which tore through the ship, effectively destroying it. On to the next one and with my heat seeker missiles, I took out the next two destroyers. Only the cruisers remained in battle.

As I took out the first and second cruiser, my spirit level suddenly flashed on the screen, it was time to unleash my frame's special attack. I aimed at the last cruiser and my driller begin to whir in motion.

My ship went really fast as I spoke the words. "SPIKE DRIVER!" I landed a direct hit on the cruiser as my drill easily cut through the ship, destroying it immediately.

The message displayed that all targets were eliminated and that I completed the objective in under five minutes which made me feel proud of myself.

I got out of the pod and took a quick stretch, only to find Forte standing.

"Very good, you're getting the hang of it now." She praised.

"Thanks," I replied.

"I think it's time for you to become an official member of the angel wing."

"That reminds me, I need to go and see Creta about that."

"Yes and then get you your own angel wing uniform…by the way, this Desert Eagle you used earlier." She handed out the gun. "It's yours now, just in case."

I was surprised. "Really, you've giving me one of your guns?"

"Yeah, I think it suits you." She put on a stern face. "It's loaded with real bullets however, so don't go crazy with it."

I took the gun from her and she then gave me a holster for it. "I promise you that I won't."

She nodded. "Good, then let's go to the hanger."

We left the simulation room and into the hanger, Creta noticed me however.

"Hi Arnold, have you seen commander Mayers?" she asked.

"No I haven't seen him since I was on the bridge with him."

"You were on the bridge with him, what for?"

"That's what I came to tell you about." I then pointed to the silver emblem frame I was on. "Tact has changed my employment status, he has declared that I am now the newest member of the Angel Wing."

The hanger crew gasped in shock, even Creta was stunned. "Is…this true?"

"It sure is." Forte replied. "He was with me at the firing range and in the simulation room. I will admit, he has got a lot of skill and we could use someone like him in battle."

"Well, this is a bit sudden. But if Commander Mayers orders it, I guess you'll have to follow it through." Creta began to smile. "In that case, we must give your Unit #8 a name."

"Hmm, how about Silver Speeder?" I suggested. "It may be almost as fast as Ranpha's frame, but it packs some impressive firepower using silver ammunition. And the drill is pasted in silver too."

"Great name, mister." Forte praised.

"Silver Speeder, I like that name too." Creta added. "I'll get the team to work on making your Emblem frame ready to go at any time."

"Thanks Creta, by the way I will still be the same person as I was before, just under a new position."

Creta smiled, walking away. Just then, a beep went off in my earpiece.

"Arnold, can you hear me?" Tact asked. "Angel wing, stand ready in primary formation. We're expecting an enemy ambush."

"I read you Tact, we'll be on standby." I replied.

"This will be your first real battle, Arnold." Forte lightly warned. "Are you sure you're ready for this?"

"As ready as I'll ever be, as long as we work together, we'll overcome this battle."

"Well said, now let's go, the other girls will be here soon."

I nodded as I rushed over to my frame which began to light and power up as soon as I got strapped in. Soon the other girls arrived and were once again surprised to see me in my frame as we got prepared to move out.

The hanger doors opened and out we went to the area, we hanged back by the Elsior as Tact came up on our screens.

"The enemy consists of destroyers, cruisers and these new ships." I heard Lester say.

"Those look tough, what are they?" I asked.

"They appear to be missile frigates." I heard Coco reply. "It seems to be quite fast with a good range."

"The shadow of that small asteroid may provide us cover for Elsior." Tact said. "We're gonna have to split the wings in three groups."

I and the girls nodded.

"Ranpha, I need you to clear the way for the Elsior to hide behind that small asteroid. Vanilla, please follow her in case of repairs. Mint, Forte, take care of the ships that approach us from the North West of the map. Finally Milfie and Arnold, eliminate all ships from the East and North.

"Great idea, Tact." I commented as the others all nodded in agreement. "We'll do our best."

Soon the battle was about to begin, Forte's face appeared on my screen. "One final word, don't take on something that's beyond your capabilities."

"I won't." I replied. "Milfie will watch over me just in case, right?"

"Of course, Arnold." Milfie replied. "As long as you watch over me too."

I smiled and nodded, off to battle!

Those missile frigates were tough indeed, but with Milfie's Hyper Cannon and my Spike Driver, those destroyer and cruisers went down easily.

I checked the radar and Ranpha was cleaning house, poor Vanilla was trying to catch up with her. The battle was then over as all targets were eliminated.

It was time to withdraw and return to the Elsior, as we flew back in the hanger and landed our frames, I got out, but almost tripped and felt a bit dizzy.

"Whew…guess I spun around in that battle a bit too much." I said.

"You do look a bit tired." Mint commented.

"You should rest." Vanilla added.

"Yeah, I'll go and do that right now." I replied. "That was great of me to be in combat. I'll see you girls later."

As I was about to leave, I decided to get a bit brave, so I went to Milfie and wrapped my arms around her in a hug. "Thank you, Milfie, I'm so happy you have my back."

"Kya!" she exclaimed in surprise, but she wrapped her arms around my neck. "You're welcome, and thank you too."

To no surprise, the other girls were looking.

"Oh hello!" Forte smirked. "What's going on here?"

"Is there something you're not telling us?" Ranpha asked.

Milfie and I both blushed this time.

"I'm sure we'll find out soon, let's go to the bridge." Mint said. "We'll let Tact know about your absence."

"Thanks girls, I'll see you again."

I left the hanger and walked over to my crew quarters room. That was my first time in real combat and man it was tough, but I had a feeling I would get used to it soon.


	4. The Supply Situation

The Supply Situation

A few days had passed, eventually I found out what had been going on whilst I was training. A probe disguised as Tact entered the ship and caused all sorts of havoc, until it was revealed that the enemy's true goal was to confirm that Prince Shiva was on board the Elsior, believing that he is not on The White Moon.

I was disappointed to hear that because they now know where the Prince is, the enemy is going to be more serious with their attacks, but at the same time, I was confident that we can overcome Eonia's fleet when the time arrives.

That was not all, I was beginning to notice Ranpha loosening up a little bit whenever Tact was around, I was curious in asking either of them, but I thought better of it and let them figure it out for themselves.

Today wasn't going to be good however, I had been hearing reports that supplies on the ship were starting to run low and unless we could find a supplier or something, we could run into trouble at our weakest.

My room had been moved as well, I now had the guest room which was next to Milfie's room and from a personal view, it was exactly ideal, considering how close her and me had gotten since last week.

As I left the room by lunch time, I walked down to the cafeteria and saw the place crowded, guess the supply issue was even affecting the normal routines, it wasn't looking good. Thankfully though, the head chef had reserved a warm meal for me in advance.

My time with it was somewhat interrupted when a somewhat more muscle-type guy sat by me and gently slapped me on the back.

"Heeeey Arnold, man!" He greeted loudly. "What up!"

Good thing I didn't have anything in my mouth. "Hey Clayton, haven't seen you around much."

"Well duh, ever since you got promoted as a pilot, who else could I see apart from your mug?" He laughed.

"Loud and proud as ever." I remarked. "So how's work been since my re-assignment?"

"A lot less lively since you left, but that ain't the big problem."

I knew what he was referring to. "You're talking about the supply, right?"

"Damn straight, some of the guys are getting restless and a bit testy since we're running low on a lot of stuff."

"Well, I'm sure our commander will figure something out. We just gotta hang in there for now and not let the morale sink."

"Good point, ain't no use going out there with low morale." He stood up. "You better take care out there."

"Same to you, good friend." I smiled. "I know when to have my eyes open."

"You better." He walked off to join the queue that had formed up by the kitchen area.

After my breakfast, I was full and ready to take on the day. I rested in my seat, allowing the food to digest when Milfie and Mint showed up.

"Hi Arnold." Mint said. "Looking sharp in your uniform."

I smiled, remembering that I got my new uniform yesterday, the clothing was the right size and I looked very good, much better than my old maintenance overalls.

"Thanks." I replied. "Here Milfie, I have a seat for you."

"Thank you." She replied, sitting next to me whilst Mint sat on the opposite side. "Looks like we came just in time."

"Yeah, you might wanna get your food quick. I hear that supplies are starting to run low."

"Running low?" Mint asked. "That would explain the crowd here."

Moments later, Milfie and Mint had their foods, though I was curious what Mint had on her plate.

"Wanna try this jelly, Arnold?" she offered.

"Sure. I'll take one bite." I replied as she put a spoon in my mouth.

I was a little embarrassed since Milfie was right by me. But as I was munching away and swallowing it, I began to feel something very strong.

"Grk…water! Water!" I exclaimed, grabbing a jug of water.

"Are you okay, Arnold?" Milfie asked.

"Yeah…much better now. What was in that jelly?"

"Hehehehe." Mint giggled. "There are seven artificial colours and sweeteners that create a mysterious and exquisite harmony together."

I raised an eyebrow. "Could you repeat that?"

"So in other words, it's like a rainbow jelly?" Milfie asked.

"Yes and it has an amazing taste." Mint replied. "As long as I can eat sweets like this, I'll be happy."

"And so will my sugar level." I added.

Mint and Milfie laughed.

Tact then walked in. "Hi Arnold, could you do me a favour?"

"Sure Tact, what's up?" I asked.

"I need you to go around the ship and give me a full report on the supply issue and see if there are any supply requests that need to be made."

"I can do that, will you be able to as well?"

"I'm afraid I haven't eaten yet and I need to get a good meal before it's too late."

I got out of my seat. "Very well then, I'll do this for you."

"Thanks Arnold."

"Hold on, let me come with you." Mint said as she followed me. "You might need help."

"If you want to." I replied. "Maybe you could help me with prices and such."

"I'll gladly help you with that. We'll see you Milfie."

"Alright, see you both. Arnold can we talk later?" Milfie asked.

"Yeah, we can." I replied.

Milfie smiled as Mint and I left the cafeteria. We explored the ship and listed the following. The park was in need of flowers and seeds so that the park could still look wonderful. The warehouse still had some supplies left, but not that many and Ranpha was here, telling us about how frozen foods aren't useless if cooked right. Forte was in need of ammunition due to her target practicing and Vanilla requested replenishing her Nanomachines as well as Doctor Cera who needed some special coffee.

Creta made a request for spare armour plates and other hardware before whispering to me that she wanted a Ricky CD for the hanger which I allowed in the end just to get her off my back. That just left Milfie although knowing her, it would be to do with cooking stuff so we added it to the list.

Our last stop was The Whale Room and I had not been here at all, it was my first time here and we bumped into Kuromie who runs the place with the space whale. He requested animal food to be added on the list and we complied. We were sure that Vanilla cared about the animals so much when she has time.

"Looks like we've checked just about everywhere." I said before I heard the Chrono drive deactivating. "Guess we're out of time."

"It's okay, I'll take this report to Tact on the bridge." Mint replied. "See you soon, Arnold."

"Okay, thanks Mint."

That left me with some free time, so I walked down to the gym as I had yet to even touch a bar and get my exercise here. I took off my uniform jacket and laid it on a bench and put on a pair of exercising gloves and went to work in the gym.

Lifting weights of different kinds, running on a treadmill, an exercise bike and a punching bag with boxing gloves on. I don't know how Ranpha does it, but this was already taking a toll on my body after nearly 30 minutes of training.

"Working hard to keep fit are we?" I heard a voice ask.

"Oh hey Ranpha, I didn't see you there." I replied. "You don't mind this?"

"Of course not, I'm actually glad you found the time to come here." She continued, putting on her boxing gloves. "I've been meaning to ask you for a long time, anyway."

"About training here once a week?"

"Training here once a day whenever possible."

Suddenly, I heard a noise go off.

"Sounds like trouble…you ready?"

"As soon as you get your jacket back on." Ranpha replied. "Let's go!"

Ranpha and I rushed to the hanger and got into our emblem frames, we were out of there quick before the other three girls followed.

"Alright, we have a situation." Forte said, her face on my monitoring screen. "We received an SOS from a nearby merchant fleet carrying the supplies that we requested."

"So we have an escort mission?" I asked.

"Probably."

Tact's face appeared on the screen. "Angel Wing, are you ready?"

We all replied, ready to go.

Mint's face appeared on my screen. "I'm looking at the data. Right now, the merchant fleet have taken little damage, but that may not last."

"Hold on, of course we need to resupply, but if we fight for that and the Elsior falls, it's all over." Forte replied.

"Then it's up to you, Tact." I said. "What do you propose?"

"Alright, I prioritize in rescuing the merchants." Tact declared. "Aside from the supplies, I'm worried about the civilians."

"Acknowledged." Mint replied. "Thank you."

The screens disappeared and a radar one appeared. Showing the Elsior and our frames in the right corner. The merchant fleet were at the top left and the enemy fleet at the bottom left. Some of them were after the fleet and others were coming right at us.

"Right, the merchant fleet will retreat to this location on the top right and the Elsior will join them to as not get caught in battle." Tact explained. "Units #1, #2 and #8 will rush past the enemy and protect the fleet from the ships. Units #3, #4 and #5 will attack the ships coming for the Elsior."

I nodded in agreement, the plan was well thought out. It was time for battle!

Milfie, Ranpha and I charged right past of the ships coming for the Elsior. I knew that Mint, Forte and Vanilla would have no trouble with them. Ranpha was there first and she took out a destroyer, whilst Milfie and I each took out a cruiser.

My spirit level was halfway, just one more kill will allow it to peak. I turned around and went for the destroyer that was trailing behind us and took it out. That did it, my spirit level was peaking.

"Alright girls, out of the way, it's time for my special attack!" I exclaimed, turning my attention to a cruiser that was in my sights. "SPIKE DRIVER!"

I yelled that name and suddenly my ship went super-fast as the drill below me roared into life and rammed directly into the cruiser, ripping the ship in half, killing it instantly. I looked around to see that was the last one, all targets were destroyed.

"Excellent work angels." Tact praised. "I'm sorry but could you please work on rescuing the damaged fleet?"

"You got it, Tact." I replied. "So what do you think girls?"

"Wow, that's your special attack?" Mint asked.

"Yeah, a massive drill that allows me to cut through a ship, destroying it immediately."

"That is amazing!" Milfie praised. "You are super awesome!"

"Uhh wow, thank you…" I replied, blushing.

"It's happening again." Forte teased.

"We can tease him about that later." Mint said. "Right now the merchant fleet appears to be safe and the supplies are intact as well."

"That means we can all soak in our enjoyments of what we requested without any problems." I said, getting my head back on track.

We escorted the fleet inside the Elsior and landed our frames in the hanger.

"All right, welcome back Angel Wing." Tact said. "Good work everyone."

"Rescue work has been successfully completed." Vanilla said.

"Geez, I'm exhausted. I want to shower and rest soon." Ranpha moaned. "The new shampoo we're getting with the supply is already useful. Later."

Ranpha left and I saw Milfie coming towards me, now was a good time.

"Milfie." I said. "Shall we go somewhere else for our talk?"

"Yes, how about my room?" she asked.

"That'll be fine."

Milfie and I left the hanger and walked to her room. Here goes nothing I thought.

There was a bit of silence before I went first.

"Alright, it's just you and me." I said. "What do you need to see me for?"

"Umm yeah…" Milfie replied. "How much do you like me?"

I was a little unsure. "In what way do you mean?"

"As in do you like me as a friend or more than a friend?" Milfie looked away. "Because recently, I've been having these feelings and you've been really caring towards me."

"But isn't that what I've always done?"

"You do that for everyone you care about and I really like you for looking out for my friends." Milfie looked back at me. "But there are some things you've done that have only happened to me."

"Oh, like the time I came here to ask for your help about my sugar level and the time I gave you that hug back in the hanger?"

"Yes, all of that…you haven't done that for any of the other girls. So I'll ask again, do you like me more than a friend?"

Looks like Milfie was beginning to catch on my feelings, she's smarter than I thought.

"This is just so sudden, I've been having these feelings too but I'm not sure what to make of it, cause I've never felt stuff like this before."

"I haven't either, but I'm willing to put my feelings forward, only if you put your feelings forward first."

I was struggling, I didn't know what to say…I really do like her, more than any other girl, but she wanted me to admit how I feel about her and for me, it was just too soon, I needed more time.

So I took a deep breath and sighed, this was gonna hurt. "Milfie…I'm sorry but I can't admit my feelings right now, it's too soon."

Milfie said, looking at me worryingly. "What?"

"I haven't said my feelings, because I don't know how to put it into words yet. If you give me a bit of time, I'll be ready to confess my feelings then and let it all out."

Milfie sniffed. "No I understand…you don't like me in that way…right?"

"No, I never said that. I only said that I need some time, it doesn't mean what you think it means."

"Please…just…go."

I sighed in sadness, I was right to say what I wanted to say, but somehow, she took it the wrong way and pretty badly too, was I suddenly wrong with how I said it?

I respected her wishes though, I left her room without a word, nothing more to say and walked slowly back to my room. On the one hand, I looked at myself in the mirror and thinking that I did what I thought was right. I wasn't ready to admit my feelings and with a bit of time, I'll be ready then.

But on the other hand, I made Milfie cry…I made Milfie the most happiest and lively girl cry, that's like taking a kick to the gut which is what I'll probably have coming if Ranpha finds out about what happened since she and Milfie have known each other for a long time. I was mad at myself for what I did, but it's too late now, I had to pay the price.


	5. Confessions Of A Pilot

Confessions Of A Pilot

The next day arrived and I didn't feel any better. I was woken up by a loud thump on the door.

"OPEN THIS DOOR NOW!" I heard a loud voice yell.

"Oh crap…Ranpha found out." I muttered. I held my nose with my fingers and impersonated a female voice. "I'm afraid Arnold Williams is not available right now, please leave a message after the beep."

"DON'T PISS ME OFF!" she yelled. "COME OUT!"

"Sorry Ranpha, but unless you have Tact's permission to kick my ass, you ain't coming in here. Besides, ain't nobody got time for that?"

"THIS ISN'T OVER!"

I heard her stormed off…well that was a wake-up call. I may have messed with her too much there…no, that was so wrong of me to get all moany with Ranpha, no doubt the other girls will find out shortly.

I got out of bed and changed into my uniform. I opened the door and looked outside, good the coast is clear. Suddenly, the sirens went off.

"A fleet has appeared in front of us!" Coco announced. "All units yellow alert!"

I sighed. "Damn! Why do the enemy have to show up now?"

Sadly it was not the time to dawdle, I ran on over to the hanger and strapped myself into my emblem frame.

It was soon powered up, I wanted to go right now but I had to wait for the girls to arrive. One by one, they showed up and got into their frames and as I feared, Milfie was slow getting into hers.

But eventually we were all ready to go, the hanger doors opened and out we went. No sooner we were outside in the vast space, Ranpha's face appeared on my screen and she was pissed.

"Arnold! You've got some nerve! How dare you upset Milfie?!" she yelled. "When this is over, I'm gonna beat the crap out of you!"

"Ranpha, calm down!" Forte said, she was quite mad. "Now Arnold, explain yourself! Milfie can't even concentrate on her emblem frame!"

"Do we have go to over this while the enemy's in front of us?" I asked.

"The fleet you mentioned are not within range yet." Mint said, she looked a bit angry. "Now tell us what happened yesterday."

Vanilla was silent, but I could tell that she was not pleased either.

I sighed as there was no point in arguing with them. "Milfie wanted to have a word with me about our feelings. But I told her that I needed time, somehow she took it the wrong way. I never did anything wrong!"

"Milfie, is this true?" Vanilla asked.

"Y-y-y-yes…" she replied in a low tone, her cracked voice broke my heart.

"I see." Ranpha said. "But that doesn't mean you're off the hook! After this battle is over, I'm gonna grab my punching bag and shove it right up your-"

Suddenly, she was cut off when a light-blue haired guy appeared on my screen. "Yo, I am the leader of his majesty combat unit, the Hell Hounds, Camus O' Laphroaig."

"Oh it's you." I replied. "What do you want this time?"

"Nothing to do with you, Arnold the heartless." Did he just call me heartless, how did he know about that? "Ahhh Milfie, my dear honey. I heard a rumour that the one man who pilots an emblem frame does not share the feelings you have."

I remained silent, his voice was getting on my nerves.

"Today we brought all our friends to fight intensely and happily at our side!" Guinness added. "Let's go!"

"As usual, this guy doesn't listen to anybody." Ranpha muttered.

"Wait, friends?" Mint asked.

"That's right, friends." A young boy with green hair replied. "By the way, my name is Vermouth Matin. My most charming point is my headband, how about you just hurry up and hand over Prince Shiva?"

"Red-Eye" a red-hair guy added, why is one of his eyes coloured in lavender? "If you reject our demands, all that awaits you is eternal rest."

"That's right. You shouldn't make a habit of troubling the hands of nobles like me." A purple hair guy said in agreement. "I Riserva Chianti have been chosen. I have no spare time to play with you ladies. "

"Ladies?" I asked madly. "I can assure you that I am anything but a lady!"

"Why you are correct." Camus said with a hint of sarcasm. "You are not a man either. You broke a girl's heart and we all know this to be true."

"E-e-enough!" I began saying with a hint of anger.

"Besides, you shouldn't be piloting right now, you are nothing more than a disgrace."

I gritted my teeth. "I said enough!"

"Why don't you just surrender now, I am sure Lord Eonia would love to have you as his slave."

"SHUT UP!" I yelled. "You listen to me right now!"

Everyone took notice of my outburst.

"First of all…I will NEVER be Eonia's slave! Second of all, I am a pilot because it was destiny! Finally, someone who behaves like a snob as if he deserves everything calls me a disgrace to be a man?! That is not true! Milfie deserves someone that is twice better than you'll ever be!"

"Huh?" I heard Milfie say.

This was my chance…

"Milfie, I'm sorry for what I said yesterday. I never wanted to hurt your feelings…oh to hell with it…I LOVE YOU!"

 _BGM: Trails Of Cold Steel II OST - Reunion_

Milfie gasped. "Arnold…"

"Milfie…I love your happiness. Whenever you're happy, I'm happy too and when you share that happiness, everyone else can be happy." Milfie blinked, but I continued. "I love your cooking. Whenever you cook, you always deliver top-notch desserts that I would love to eat over and over again. And finally, I love your care. When you come to see me or when I come to see you, you're always so caring and you're always there for me…just like I should've been there for you. I'm sorry for yesterday, I'm really sorry..."

"Arnold." Milfie said.

I began to feel emotional. "These are my true feelings…I love you Milfie…my feelings are for you. You mean more to me than anyone else, I never wanna stop loving you!"

"Please say it again."

"I love you!"

"Again! One more time!"

"I love you!"

I then saw Milfie…smile happily for the first time. "Oh Arnold…thank you! I love you too…I love you so much! More than cooking, more than my luck, more than anything in the galaxy."

I shed a small tear, before seeing the girl's faces on screens. Vanilla, Forte, Mint and even Ranpha were all smiling.

"Well said, Arnold." Forte praised. "Well said."

Ranpha, Mint and Vanilla nodded in agreement.

"Oh and before I forget." I looked at Ranpha. "Ranpha, I-I'm really sorry for what I said earlier. I was in a depressing mood and I didn't know what to do. I have no excuse for the way I spoke to you."

Ranpha showed a smile of warmth. "Arnold…for what you did just now for Milfie, thank you. I'm sorry too…we'll hug it out later."

"The fighters have entered the combat zone and several automated ships have arrived." Coco said. "Please be ready."

 _End Of BGM_

I suddenly perked up. "Alright girls, are we ready to kick some ass?"

They all cheered as we got ready for battle.

"Here's the situation." Lester said as the battle plan showed up on my screen. We were at the bottom right corner, the Hell Hounds were coming at us from the North West with the automated ships behind them.

"Those fighters could be a problem." Tact said. "Alright, I'm going for a two-prong attack method."

I nodded, knowing what he meant.

"Angels, I want you to concentrate in neutralizing the hell hounds. Arnold, you are ordered to go all out against the automated ships that have showed up."

"Got it Tact, I'll give them everything I have and then some!"

There was nothing more to say, we were raring to go.

"Ready or not, here I come, automated fleet!"

"Your frame is at it's peak." Tact said. "I'm really glad it is and I heard everything that was said, I'm happy for you."

I felt so free and confident. "Thank you, Tact...those automated ships are gonna be sorry they ever crossed my path!"

As the battle started, I broke away from the angels who went straight ahead for the Hell Hounds. I looked on my radar to notice four missile frigates and two carriers, it looked like a lot for one emblem frame, but releasing my confession…it was like a new power that woke and I felt that I could take them on.

The first missile frigate was in range, I mowed it down easily with my gattling guns, then another one appeared and mowed that down too. My spirit level reach to max already and saw a carrier in my sights.

"SPIKE DRIVER!" I yelled as my drill roared to a high speed and rammed it right into the carrier, tearing it apart before blowing up. Getting an idea, I continued this method until all of the automated ships were gone.

I timed it well as I checked to see the girls wiping out the hell hounds, guess they were fired up as much as I was, soon the enemy fighters had disappeared from the combat zone.

"All automated ships destroyed." Coco said. "Enemy fighters are retreating."

"Alright! We did it!" I exclaimed happily.

I checked to see the battle results, it was my best performance yet, all the girls each took out a Hell Hound, but I wiped the floor by destroying all 6 automated ships.

Then Camus's face showed up on a monitor, way to kill the mood, mister…

"As expected of the Angel Wing, it was a beautiful fight. You truly are worthy of us." He praised, but I couldn't help notice bit of sarcasm.

I thought of replying back sarcastically. "Why thank you…now why don't you leave and let us be on our way?"

"Aside from that, we carry a message from his majesty Eonia."

"A message from Eonia?" Tact asked.

"You should be careful how you address him, being Eonia's follower is a graceful path."

"Stop talking in riddle and share it with us, will you?" I got a bit tempered.

"My, my aren't you touchy? Then, I'll play it."

An image of Eonia appeared on our screens.

"Those of you on the Elsior, I greet you. I am Eonia Transbaal, Emperor of the Legitimate Transbaal Empire." He began saying as we all listened in complete silence. "I know you are escorting my cousin, Shiva to the Rhome system. But you are making a fatal mistake. The remnants of the old regime wishing to protect their own interests support Shiva. However, he will just be a puppet. To know that my beloved cousin would be used for such a plot pains me. Moreover, that would bring ruin to our subjects. Additionally, if Shiva becomes the puppet of the old regime, the chaos will just be prolonged. None of us wants that. You are simply confused by the corruption the old regime left. However, there is still time to hand Shiva over. You are victims too. I hope that you will have the courage to correct mistake. My heart can accept your feelings. Of course, I promise that no harm will come to Shiva, because he is my only relative left. With Shiva's help, I want to build the Legitimate Transbaal Empire's future. I believe in your wise judgement..."

The message ended, I thought it was gonna take forever after listening to that tripe.

"How's that? Weren't his majesty's words beautiful?" Camus oozed. "Don't they just soak into your heart?"

"What absolute BS!" I responded. "Does Eonia really expect us to believe that crap?"

Tact then appeared on our screens. "Listen up, Hell Hounds. Return and tell this to Eonia." He said. "Eonia, your army may be mighty, but you are forgetting two things. First, we are not to stupid as to listen to your lies and hand over Prince Shiva. And Second, no matter what, we will never yield to you! That's it, I'm finished, understood?"

"Yeah, you tell them, Tact!" I agreed. "So go on Hell Hounds, run back to Eonia with your tails between your legs."

"Apparently negotiations have broken down." Camus said who still on my screen. "It seems the only choice is to fight my beautiful angel. Ahh...what a sad fate."

I couldn't stand his ego anymore, so I closed him off on my screen and I called for Milfie who showed up on my monitor.

"Hey Milfie." I said.

"Yeah?" She asked.

"After this…okay?"

"Of course."

"Thank you."

Tact showed up on our screen. "Alright angels, the Hell Hounds have retreated, withdraw and let's get out of here."

As we returned to the Elsior and got out of our frames, I finally explained to the girls in detail about my feelings and Milfie did the same. As promised, Ranpha and I shared a forgiving hug, confirming that we were on good terms again.

"So then, shall we go someplace else?" I asked Milfie.

"For you, I'll go anywhere you go." She replied happily. "Together."

I held out my hand and nodded. "Together."

We then left the hanger holding hands and smiling back at our friends who all looked happy to see us leaving as a couple, I'm sure things will get much better from now on.


	6. Make A Morale

Make A Morale

It was now over the second week since Tact Mayers joined the Elsior and over a week since I became a part of the Angel Wing. Right now, I couldn't be happier. I confessed my feelings for Milfie a few days ago and all the issues I had were put to rest.

Speaking of which, whilst Milfie and I were talking the other day, we heard from Mint that she received a huge cuddly toy after winning it in a supply raffle competition and even Prince Shiva came out of his throne room, along with Forte who served as his bodyguard. Tact had bought him a chess set and promised to play a game with him when he had time.

Today, I was in Milfie's room with her and we were sharing a heart-warming embrace on her bed. We were in each other's arms, not wanting to let go. We wouldn't wanna be anywhere else but right now. Eventually though a battle will come along, but we were okay. As long as we have our best friends, we can overcome any battle.

"Arnold…I love you." She said happily and quietly.

"Milfie…I love you too." I replied back in the same manner.

Then a beep went off in my earpiece. "Yes, go ahead."

"Angel Wing, can you hear me?" Tact called. "Please go to the hanger and board your emblem frames. You're on standby."

"Standby? What's this all about?" Ranpha asked.

"We've often encountered the enemy as soon as we drive out. That's why we should be ready. Once we're in normal space and confirmed that there's no ambush, you can stand down. Until then, stay sharp."

"Well you have a point." I replied. "I'll be there shortly."

"Roger." Vanilla replied.

"Hopefully this will end and that your suspicion was for nothing." Forte said.

"Uh, I am kneading dough right now." Milfie said. That was a white lie since she was with me in my arms. "Is it okay if I'm a little late?"

"Denied. That leaves Mint…Mint, is something wrong?"

"Huh…What is it?" Mint said in a tired voice.

"Our orders are to board our Emblem frames, we have to go." I replied. "Tact, I hope you know what you're doing. Cause this will look bad if you get this wrong."

"I know, I know." Tact replied. "Okay, good luck."

Milfie and I got off her bed, but before we left, I wanted to give Milfie something. Something she hasn't received yet and something that I can give her.

"Oh Milfie, wait…let me give you this." I walked closer to her and kissed her on the cheek.

She blushed bright red, but smiled happily. "Thank you, Arnold."

I smiled back, leaving the room with her, holding hands.

We walked down to the hanger and got ourselves strapped in our own Emblem frames, we were on standby and ready to go.

For while, nothing was happening and I was getting a little bored of waiting. The girls had already started complaining, Forte called Tact and asked how long were gonna be on standby.

"Please hang in there, everybody." Tact replied. "What if you're wrong and we encounter the enemy? Will you all be able to fight properly?"

I sighed...bad choice of words, Tact. That did not seem to go down well with the girls.

"Hey, that's not the problem here." Forte replied.

"This is our duty." Vanilla added, although she didn't look pleased.

"We're here, doing our best, every day and night." Mint huffed. "I'm disappointed that you don't believe in us."

"I'm so sad." Milfie moaned. "By now, my dough is already fermenting."

I had to laugh on the inside, she didn't need to carry on telling that white lie. Oh well, it was working for now.

"That doesn't matter!" Ranpha exclaimed.

"Hate to say I told you so, Tact." I said with a smirk.

"I got it, I got it! Please just wait until we join the fleet, okay?" he said in a hurry, before cutting transmission.

Things were quiet again and there was more minutes of waiting when suddenly, we began hearing sirens going off.

"Angel Wing, can you hear me?" Tact said. "Scramble at once!"

"Yeah, we're ready to go." I replied. "Looks like you were right, so there's no allied fleet or anything?"

"It looks like an enemy fleet to me." Mint replied.

The hanger doors opened and we flew out to the open space, we were surprised to find several pieces of scrap metal, scattering across the area.

"What the heck happened here?" I asked.

"Those wreckages look recent." Forte replied. "Like there was a battle that took place."

Tact's face and the radar appeared on our screen.

"The enemy is divided in two groups." Lester said. "This group here are three destroyers and a missile frigate."

I noted them down, with my emblem frame, I could take them all on.

"But the second group has new ships in the fray. These four small ones, they look like high-speed frigates, they're quite fast and pack a bit of a punch. And this flagship here, it's a battlecruiser, it's faster than our Elsior and packs a lot of firepower."

"That flagship could be a huge problem for us." Tact said. "Then there's only one objective. All angels, our priority is to damage the enemy flagship. The Elsior will move to the North to get away."

"Do you want me to hold back and take out the high-speed frigates?" I offered.

"Yes, but only if there is time. Angel Wing, engage!"

"Yes sir!" We all replied in unison.

It was battle time and we were about to start until we received a transmission from the enemy battlecruiser. On came a screen showing a female commander, she called herself Sherry Bristol. Eonia's second in command and in pursuit of the Elsior, looks like they're finally getting serious.

They really want Prince Shiva handed over…what a shame that we won't comply.

Then the battle started for real, as part of the plan, I held back whilst the Elsior moved to get away as the angels charged at the high-speed frigates and the battlecruiser. As the angels went to work on Sherry's battlecruiser. I swerved forward until the first high-speed frigate came into range.

It was indeed quite fast for an automated ship, but it was no problem for me to catch up and destroy it. The next two swooped by, but I launched the heat seeker missiles, draining them both down to 50% health before using my gattling guns to finish them off. One last high-speed frigate was left and my spirit level came on just in time.

"SPIKE DRIVER!" I yelled, as the drill whirred up and rammed straight into the enemy ship, even a high-speed frigate is no match for my special attack, I hope to try it on a boss flagship soon.

But I didn't need to as the angels were able to damage the battlecruiser, forcing it to slow down and then stop.

"All right, let's push on through them." Tact said.

Suddenly, a second wave of enemy ships appeared, then a third wave behind it.

"What the heck, how many ships does Eonia have?!" I exclaimed.

"Angels, we've got no choice." Tact replied. "Withdraw to the Elsior!"

"Acknowledged." Forte replied.

We all quickly swooped in to the hanger and waited for the ship to activate the Chrono Drive which should buy us some time.

We had to go to the bridge right away, Tact Mayers owed us an explanation.

"Commander Mayers." Forte said as we all walked in on the bridge. "All six members of the Angel Wing are here."

"Yeah, thanks for the hard work, all of you." Tact praised.

"I don't want to hear that right now." Ranpha huffed. "What the heck is going on? Explain at once!"

"Explain?"

"Your decision, Tact." I replied. "Why were there so many enemies?"

"There were so many. I'm so glad we retreated." Milfie sighed.

"However, I don't believe we've escaped from them yet." Mint added.

"In the place that the Gimson system's fleet was supposed to be stationed, we found Eonia's fleet." Vanilla said.

"No way, it was an enemy trap?" Ranpha asked.

"Now now, calm down. Even if it's speculation, I won't allow it." Tact said. "In any case, you're all dismissed. Everybody get some rest."

"We'll accept your kind offer and get some rest." Forte replied.

I wanted to sigh, there was clearly something Tact was not telling us. Or maybe, he was having trouble finding the words to say, like I was.

"Yes, understood." Milfie replied with others nodding. "I'll be with you later, Arnold."

I nodded and we all left the bridge, I could tell that the morale has plummeted and since it's low, we can't really fight at our best. Tact is our commander though, so it's his job to do something about it.

"You five go on." Forte said. "I need to have a word with Tact."

We nodded. Ranpha went to the gym, Vanilla went to the infirmary, Mint to the tea lounge and Milfie went to the cafeteria.

As for me, I went to the simulation room to try and keep my stats up at a high level. But then I thought about why am I doing this, shouldn't I be helping out in trying to rebuild morale?

I shut down the simulation and decided to do a bit of reassuring of my own. I left the room and went to look for Ranpha first. I walked to the gym and she was there alright.

"Hey Ranpha, have you been exercising here?" I asked.

"Obviously." She replied. "Once I cleared my mind, I got all fired up."

"Ahhh, did Tact come by earlier?"

"Yeah and I'm glad he did, sometimes I think he's not a bad commander. He's also a pretty good guy, a lot more than what I thought he was when he first came here."

"I think almost everyone on this ship had that as a first impression."

"Anyways, how about some practice with me?"

"Okay, let's do this. If I get my body moving, maybe it'll help me too."

"Now you're getting it, a healthy mind leads to a healthy body. Here's some pads and gloves, I don't want to hurt you."

I gulped. "I have a feeling I'm gonna need those." I put them on, I felt protected, but considering Ranpha's physical strength, I didn't think it was gonna be enough.

"Okay, here I go." She said. "Hiya!"

She began her martial art kicks and I blocked each one with the pads.

"Woah! I was right, I felt the kicks going right through the pads."

"We're not done yet…Uryaa! Eeeh! Toooh!"

"Ooof!" I blurted out as I was surprisingly taken off guard by a hidden kick that almost knocked me down.

"Oh…whoops, I was getting into my groove then." Ranpha said sheepishly. "Are you okay?"

"Yeah I'm fine, you took me by surprise there. Guess I still have a long way to go."

She smiled. "In terms of your piloting maybe, but on a personal note, I'm really happy that you and Milfie are together and that you and I are best friends."

I took off the pads and gloves. "Thank you Ranpha. It means a lot from you."

"No problem." Ranpha pulled me into a hug. "You go and take care of the other girls, right?"

"That was kinda my idea, yeah."

She nodded and I left the gym, walked up to Milfie's room and knocked on her door.

"Who is it?" she asked.

"It's your boyfriend." I boasted.

"Haha, come on in."

I walked in with my arms open, she walked up to me and embraced before she gave me a kiss on the cheek in return for my kiss earlier.

"Something smells good, what's cooking?" I asked.

"Its bread, Tact came by and had some earlier, do you want a slice?"

"Sure, I'm a little peckish right now."

"Here you go…"

"Thanks." I took a slice that had tuna fish on it. "This is very good, so Tact came by earlier?"

"Yeah, he's trying to restore our morale because we were depressed earlier, but I'm okay now."

"Oh, that's good to know. Did he speak about anything else?"

"Well, I promised him I wouldn't tell anyone, but since it's you I can tell you if you want me too."

"Please do, we're together and in love after all."

"You're right…" she took a deep breath and smiled. "Tact came by to talk to me about Ranpha."

I was curious. "Ranpha, I wonder why."

"I think it's because he likes her, but he's not sure yet because of his commanding role."

"Well, I think it would be best if we let them figure that out in time."

Milfie nodded.

"So anyways, I'm gonna check on the other girls if that's alright."

As I got up, she wrapped her arms around me, "That's fine, I'll see you again tonight, okay?"

I put my arms on her shoulders. "Sure, I'll come back later."

I gave her a kiss and left her room, I walked to the lounge to find Mint only to not find her there. Then as I walked down a hallway, I heard a few squeaky noises.

"What was that sound…hmm, it looked like it came from down here." I found a stairway that took me to a darker part of the floor. "I haven't been down here before." The squeaky noise happened again. "Okay, I'm investigating this. I'm sure Tact will appreciate me helping."

I walked forward and deeper down the dimmed lit hallway. "Alright, whoever is here, come on out now!"

"Kyaa!" I heard a voice yell.

Suddenly, there she was…Mint who was dressed up in some sort of hamster costume.

"Mint?" I stood speechless.

"Oh dear…hi Arnold." She replied bashfully. "I'm a little embarrassed you had to see me like this."

Just then, I heard footsteps from above, it was Tact Mayers.

"I came down here because I heard a scream and…oh, hi Arnold and…Mint?"

Mint blushed. "Oh uh…hi Tact."

"So if I may ask, why are you dressed in that?" I asked.

"Umm, because I wanted to cheer up Tact."

"Me?" Tact asked.

"Yeah, ever since the last battle, you were really worried." She then swayed her arms. "I've been practicing in cheering you on."

"That's pretty clever." I commented. "I feel more cheerful now."

"Thank you Arnold, that's great. So what do you think, Tact?"

Tact smiled. "Thanks Mint! That cute look has completely blown away my dark thoughts."

"Cute?" she asked, gasping.

"Alright, I'll leave this to you now, I gotta check on something." I said.

"Okay Arnold." Mint replied. "Goodnight."

I smiled, walking up the stairs back into the normal hallway, I now wondered about Vanilla until I suddenly went down with something in my stomach. I walked to the infirmary to find Vanilla and Doctor Cera.

"Hi there Doctor and Vanilla." I said.

"Oh, evening Arnold, is there something wrong?" Cera asked.

"There might be, it's around the stomach area."

"I shall treat you." Vanilla said. "Please take a seat there."

I sat on a soft chair and Vanilla sat beside me with her healing powers on my stomach. The pain began to gradually disappear before it was gone completely.

"Thank you Vanilla, that helped me a lot."

"Stomach acid levels appear to be normal, sugar level was approaching low status. The Nanomachines has given you a normal sugar level."

"Oh shoot." I sighed. "I've been so busy with the piloting and battling that I forgot about that health issue."

"It isn't a problem now. Tact had a problem earlier from minor gastritis which was caused by stress."

I blinked. "Tact was stressed?"

"Yes, but he seems okay now and was thankful that we were concerned for him." Cera replied. "Anyways, please remember to be careful with your sugar level. I hope your girlfriend is treating you to lots of sugary cakes." She winked.

"Oh ha ha ha." I laughed sarcastically. "She's trying to…and if failing that, I could always borrow some of Mint's candy."

Cera and I laughed, although Vanilla didn't join in, probably because of who she is.

"Okay, you take care now." Cera said.

"I will, goodnight Doctor…and goodnight Vanilla."

"Goodnight." Vanilla replied.

I left the infirmary, it was getting kinda late at night, so I walked back to Milfie's room, only to find her approaching from a corner on the hallway in her nightwear.

"Gah!" she exclaimed.

"It's only me…I didn't see anything." I replied.

"No it's okay, you startled me a little." She began blushing. "But I'm glad you're here."

"Well if you're feeling tired, we can have our alone time together tomorrow."

"Yeah, I am a little tired tonight. Sorry Arnold, but have a goodnight."

"You too, Milfie."

We shared a loving hug and kissed her on the cheek.

"Ahhh the cheek again?" she asked.

Looks like she wanted something else, so I grabbed her by the waists and moved my head forward, gently kissing her on the lips. She was bright red, but smiling.

I walked back to my room, a proud man!

I heard a beep that woke me up the next day, looks like Tact may be ready to say what's really going on. I dressed up in my uniform and walked to the bridge along with the girls with me holding Milfie's hand.

"Tact, we're all here now." I said.

"Yeah, thanks for coming." He replied.

"It's unusual to call us while we're in Chrono drive." Mint said.

"If you've got something to say then hurry up." Ranpha added.

Forte was silent, I wondered why.

"Okay, I wanted to speak with you before we drive out." Tact said. "Firstly, there's the possibility that the Gimson fleet we were supposed to join has been annihilated by Eonia's forces."

"Eh?" Milfie gasped slightly.

"But there's also the chance that they're waiting at the rendezvous point too."

Still there was silence.

"However, the full force of Eonia's fleet may be waiting for us as soon as we enter space. I think that's the most likely event."

"So in other words, there's gonna be a huge force waiting for us as soon as we drive out?" I asked.

"So that's how it is." Vanilla said.

Forte was still silent.

Tact began to speak up. "I did not hide it from you, because I believe in you. I believe in everybody in the Angel Wing. If I have all of your strength, than we will not lose."

I began to believe his words.

"I will also do my best. For all your sakes, I will be the best commander I can. Even if there is a huge fleet waiting for us, I will find a way for the Elsior and the Angel Wing to escape!"

I nodded in agreement.

"And so…please believe in me. Believe and me and fight your best!"

Milfie was the first to reply. "Yes, I believe in you, Tact."

"I believe in you too." I added. "Very wise words."

"Well said Tact, that's why you are our commander." Forte said. "Alright, you heard him, let's get to the hanger. We believe in you!"

We then left the bridge and began to rush over to the hanger and jump into our Emblem Frames. We were all fired up and ready to go, no matter how big the fleet is, we'll find a way to escape for sure.

Soon the Chrono drive ended and we were back in normal space, the hanger doors opened and we flew out one by one, quickly surveying the view as far as we could see.

I gulped, noticing one heck of a fleet in the far north corner.

"Woah! So this is Eonia's fleet." I commented. "That huge ship in the middle, could be his flagship."

Suddenly, things got more worrying as we discovered a small fleet appearing from behind us. There were the destroyers, high-speed frigates…and Sherry's Battlecruiser.

"I've got you now, Angel Wing." Sherry boasted. "Our game is at an end. Even if you run from me, you cannot escape Lord Eonia's grasp."

"That's what you think." I remarked.

Suddenly, a screen popped up…a man with orange hair was on screen.

"This will be the first time we've spoken face to face, Elsior." He said. "Do I need to introduce myself?"

I gasped. "Lord Eonia!"

"Angel wing, this is Tact." He said. "This conversation is now exclusive between me and Eonia. Please stand by for the battle plan."

I nodded and both screens disappeared, but was kept on the wire.

"So the supreme commander finally shows himself." Tact said. "They're finally taking us seriously."

"You were able to escape from us until you ended up here." Eonia said. "I must praise you for your valor."

"Thank you for that. By the way, if you would remove your fleet from our path, I'd be grateful."

"Hehe, you're exactly the man that Sherry said. Unfortunately, I can't do that. Stand down at once and release the one called Shiva to us. It's best if you obey. I shall swear upon my name to the safety of yourself, the Elsior and the Emblem Frames."

"I wonder if he knows about me." I spoke out of the blue.

"We are already aware of you, mister Arnold Williams. I am impressed with how you could manage an Emblem Frame in a short space of time. Now silence!"

"Eonia, I can't accept." Tact replied. "If we can't retreat, then we'll just have to break through you."

"What an unexpectedly dull response. Fine, it'll give me a chance to see your recklessness for myself…Sherry, I leave it to you. Bring Shiva to me."

Then, Eonia's flagship began retreating and leaving the combat area.

There was silence for a while until the radar showed on my screen as Tact gave us the run down.

"We are planted here, we're in a pincer situation." Tact said. "We have only one objective here. Angels, you must escort the Elsior to this location up in the far North East corner."

"Why the North east corner?" I asked.

"Cause we just received a transmission…it's from our allies which is to come to point YJn631. We'll have to break through the fleet's left flank in front of us."

"Got it. In which case, we're gonna be playing defence and take out any ships that try to come near us."

"Honestly, I'm not sure of this plan, but we've got to find a way out."

"We believe in you, Tact." Forte replied. "We'll protect you so bravely, pierce through to the target."

"Alright Angel Wings. Stay close to me!"

As soon as the battle begin, I remembered back to the last battle. "Okay girls, let's take out Sherry's battlecruiser first, if she swarms over to the Elsior, it's all over."

The girls nodded and we turned to the South and charged right at Sherry's ship. This time however, it was going down quickly. I began to think that Forte was on fire, so I let her be whilst I focused on taking out the high-speed frigates that were faster than Sherry's ship.

Sherry's battlecruiser eventually stopped and was in flames, we damaged it well enough for it to stop. That was one major threat out of the way, meanwhile I focused on the high-speed frigates and I had taken the two closest to the Elsior down. Another two began approaching at the same time as one of the missile frigates was within range of the Elsior.

"Girls, deal with the high-speed frigates, I'll take care of the missile frigates approaching the Elsior."

"Wait, I'm all fired up, ready to release my Strike Burst." Forte said.

I then saw a battleship approaching. "Alright, use your special on that battleship."

"Got it, on my way."

Soon the missile frigates, high-speed frigates and the battleship were gone. Suddenly, the moment in this battle was beginning to swing in our favour.

"Alright girls, I think it's best if we come back and guard the Elsior."

"Good idea." Forte replied.

We were then all back at the Elsior, guarding the ship as it moved closer and closer to the target point. It took a while as we watched destroyers, cruisers and a carrier still in pursuit.

But then we made it to the target point, there was nothing here…until we a group of green-painted ships appear beside us…no doubt, our allied reinforcements had arrived. I breathed in a sigh of relief as we were ordered to withdraw whilst the allies took care of the enemy ships.

Sometime later, we were back on the bridge and to our surprise, Commodore Luft returned. The girls seemed pleased to see him and so did Tact and Lester.

"Commodore Luft! You survived!" Tact exclaimed.

"Ha, don't write me off." Luft replied.

"I'm so glad." Milfie said. "We were all so worried about you."

"And the Angel Wing ladies are still as cheerful as ever…oh wait, who is this man?"

"This is Arnold Williams. He joined the Angel Wing over a week ago and his piloting is amazing."

I laughed nervously. "Well, it's not that amazing."

"Ahhh, so this is the new member I've been hearing about. Well young man, I've heard of your battles from what Tact has told me, you are an inspiration to many."

"Wow, thank you Commodore Luft."

Luft then went on to explain how his fleet was able to move on by unharmed after we were able to escape with the Elsior and reach the destination of Rhome.

It was time for us to rest afterwards, so Milfie and I headed to her room and she laid with me on the bed. We were so happy to have escaped out of that grasp, I hope we never have to do that again.


	7. Healing Mind & Body

Healing Mind & Body

It was the evening and a lot had happened today. We were overjoyed to finally meet up with our allies, now we were much stronger at taking on whatever Eonia throws at us. We were also getting close to reaching the Rhome system, so our escort objective was almost done.

Milfie and I were walking in the park with our hands together when Milfie gasped.

"Look!" she exclaimed, pointing to the big tree that had pink petals.

"Woah, I haven't seen a tree like that before." I commented.

"Hold on, I'm gonna call the other girls and Tact here."

"But why?"

"I want them to see this, I'll explain when they get here."

A few moments later, Tact and the other four girls arrived.

"Hey Milfie, what happened?" Tact asked.

"Look at this, isn't it beautiful?" Milfie replied, showing them the big tree.

"Huh?"

"See, all these flowers. Arnold and I were walking around and we found this."

Tact was still looking confused. "Ah yeah…I can certainly see that."

"Uh, what?" Ranpha asked. "You can't mean that this was the trouble, can you?"

Milfie looked sheepishly. "Yeah."

"Don't call it trouble unless it is! This isn't how I want to spend my time off!"

"But it's so beautiful, see the flowers, they're all blooming?"

"If only the one in your brain would bloom already!"

Forte chuckled. "Like always, you two make a good duo."

"That's right." Mint added. "I never get tired of your comedy, no matter how often I hear it."

"Just a minute girls, before this gets out of hand." I intervened. "I want to know about that big tree, what is that kind?"

"I have to agree." Tact added. "Milfie, continue."

"Ah yes, it's called a kafukafu tree and it comes from the planet Suginoria that disappeared in the Chrono Quake." Milfie explained. "It's a very rare plant. The one here is the only confirmed one anybody knows about."

"So it is an endangered species." Mint replied. "I was not aware that it was such a valuable tree."

"Is that all?" I asked.

"Not yet, it's more amazing than that." Milfie continued. "This tree's flowers only bloom once every 100 years! It's the 100th year now."

Tact was surprised and so was I. "Ohhh, every 100 years, eh?"

"Then we're very lucky to be able to see it." I added.

"There's also a tradition where I was born." Milfie finished. "Everybody would gather under the blooming trees, drink and sing and have fun."

"In other words, an outdoor party?" Ranpha asked. "Your home sure has a carefree tradition."

"But isn't that okay?" Forte asked. "It'll be a nice boost right before the big operation."

"Big operation?" I asked.

"Oh right, I haven't discussed that with you yet." Tact said. "Our upcoming mission is to rendezvous with an allied fleet on our way to the Rhome system, there's an enemy fleet and they're requesting assistance."

"Ahhh I get it."

Eventually, we all agreed to join in the tradition Milfie spoke about and since the last battle, we haven't had any encounters for a while, so we were good for now.

Milfie then made a request call to get everyone else to join us at the park. Almost everyone did, even Lester came along, although due to Almo trying to persuade him to come with her. Hmm, I wonder if she likes him just a little bit…

My thoughts were stopped when in the corner of my eye, I noticed Vanilla leaving and Tact was looking a bit concerned. Then, Milfie walked up to me.

"Arnold, mind if you sit by me under the tree and see the flowers?"

I smiled, how could I say no? "I don't mind at all, let's sit over there together."

We walked over and sat on a clear grassy spot under the pink tree. I sat down first with my back on the tree, it was a bit rough but I didn't mind. Milfie sat in front of me, allowing me to gently wrap my arms around her stomach, she held on to my hands and rested her head on my chest.

"Mmmm…" I sighed happily. "This is beautiful."

"And the flowers, you can see them blooming really well." Milfie replied.

This was like a little piece of heaven in my mind, we didn't want to get up and leave.

"It sure looks like everyone else is having fun, but here we are. Together and wrapped up in the love that we have."

Milfie sighed. "Yeah…but don't forget about our best friends."

"I won't, I know that you care about them a lot and I do as well."

"Oh Arnold…come here."

She turned her head and her lips made contact with my lips.

"Evening, lovebirds." We heard a voice, causing us to end the kiss.

"Oh uhh hey there Doctor Cera and hi Coco." I said.

"We're having a karaoke contest, Tact and Ranpha just sang, you wanna have a go?" Coco offered.

"Ohhh, or are we getting in the way?" Cera teased.

"Its okay, Arnold." Milfie assured who was blushing. "I wanna hear you sing."

"Well if my girlfriend says so. Give me a mic and I'll do it."

Milfie and I got up and whispered to each other that we'll continue the love later. I walked back to the party area, grabbed a mic and picked a retro rock song for the karaoke, this is the voice!

After my performance, I got a huge cheer with Milfie behaving like a fangirl.

Things were quiet until some of the crew started to feel unwell. Somehow though, Tact, Milfie and myself didn't seem affected. We were worried what was happening.

* * *

A few days later, nearly everyone visited the infirmary and Doctor Cera found out the cause. Apparently, an unusual kind of hay fever had spread from a tree and effected nearly everyone in the park. Guess a lot of people on the ship have an allergy to kafukafu pollen.

Vanilla volunteered to work extra hours in order to cure everyone on the ship that was affected by the pollen. She may be incredibly reliable and her healing powers are superb, but I was beginning to worry if she was taking on too much work, due to her young and frail body.

After I had my dessert treat from Milfie in her room, I began to wonder about something and I think Milfie noticed it too.

"What's wrong, Arnold?" she asked, lying on the bed with me.

"It's about Vanilla." I replied. "I know she's had to work extra hard for several days, curing everyone, but I'm worried that she's putting in too much."

"Are you sure?"

I nodded, stroking her hair "Yeah, I heard that almost everyone has been cured now. But I think if she keeps it up without resting, she might have a problem in the future."

"I'm not even sure if she does rest and she doesn't talk about anything personal that often."

A beep went off in my ear. "Arnold, can you hear me?"

"Yes Tact, what's up?"

"Don't be startled but Prince Shiva is requesting an audience with you in the throne room. I would go there myself, but I need time to check over the ship and if Vanilla needs anything."

"Prince Shiva…well then I better not keep him waiting. I'll be going now." I ended the call.

Milfie smiled. "You're going to see the Prince, don't be nervous."

"Thanks." I kissed her, got off the bed and left her room.

"Hello Arnold." The maid said as I walked to the throne room. "The Prince has been expecting you. Please enter."

I nodded, entering the Throne room and it was quite a room of royalty and there was the Prince himself, he may look very young, but he had a look of a wise man.

"Greetings Arnold." He said. "It is good to finally speak to the man who became one of the Angels. I have been waiting for a long time to discuss a few matters, my maid is outside and whatever we speak here must not leave this room."

I bowed. "I understand, Prince. How can I help?"

"First, I would like to hear from your own words. Explain how you were able to pilot an Emblem Frame that no one else has been able to since this ship left The White Moon."

"All I understand Prince is that when I first made contact with the frame, I felt a surge of power that began to flow inside me and around the frame. Once I got inside, the ships controls switched itself on and thanks to Angel Wing leader, Forte Stollen who guided me with needed training, I became an official member of the group ever since."

"Ah yes, Forte Stollen, a confident and proud woman. Your answer may have led to a few questions, but I believe that what you say is genuine. On to the second matter. Have you developed any feelings since you joined?"

"Yes Prince, along the way, I had begun to develop feelings for one Angel wing member, Milfeulle Sakuraba. Before the battle with the Hell Hounds, I confessed my feelings to her and she responded back, saying that she loved me too. We have been together as a couple and everyone close to her has never been happier."

"I am aware of that fateful encounter. You performed admirably that day and that I hope you continue to serve in the Angel Wing."

"Thank you, Prince. But may I ask you a question?"

"I will allow one at this time."

"Thank you, have you thought about what will happen after Lord Eonia is defeated?"

"Hmm, a future Empire after Lord Eonia is defeated. I have not thought of that possibility yet. I will assume that I would take the rightful place as leader of the Empire as it is my blood right and it would be my duty to rebuild the empire towards everlasting peace across the galaxy."

"I believe that is a positive outlook for the future. I am confident that you will succeed as emperor soon."

Shiva giggled. "You're beginning to sound like Commander Mayers, he too has confidence in my ability to lead the people forward."

I nodded.

"That will be all for today, mister Arnold. You may leave now, but remember what I said earlier."

"I understand, Prince, anything we spoke today will not leave the room. Thank you for your time."

With that I bowed, turned and left the throne room. For such a young boy, he sure is wise with his words.

As I left the room, I spotted Forte who was dressed differently.

"Oh hi there Arnold." She said. "Did you just came out of the throne room?"

"Yeah, but I rather not speak more about it."

"I understand…anyways, I've noticed that Milfie's room is the only other room besides yours that you visit. Wanna check out my room?"

"Sure Forte, since I've been so busy, I've never got around to visiting the other girls rooms, guess I can start now."

"Alright, come on in and have a seat by the sofa."

Forte opened her door and I walked in. It had quite a calm yet ambitious feel. I could also spot several guns on display in a frame and a silver locker beside it.

"Drink?" she offered.

"No thanks, I have a feeling I might have one coming my way." I replied as I sat down with Forte who had a cup of coffee.

"So how are you and Milfie doing?"

"Pretty much together and very much in love."

"Oh, you admitted that quickly."

"I guess it's because I've learnt a lot from all of you."

Forte laughed. "Yeah, so we're the reason…by the way, do you smell something?"

I sniffed a little and felt a scent of fragrance in my nose "Is that perfume?"

"Sure is, it's my Chenard #5. I like to put it on when I'm not in my uniform, you like it?"

I smiled. "I do and I'm surprised."

"I knew you would be. I don't use perfume often, you know."

"I can see that. By the way, I've been wanting to ask you for some time."

"Yes?"

"How did you become the leader of the angel wing?"

"Ahhh, I was wondering when you would ask me that. Well it's quite simple really." Forte took a deep breath. "Apart from being the eldest of the group, the Angel Wing wanted a ring leader who can command the girls in battle. Based on my knowledge and experience in team building, I was selected as the first lieutenant whilst the other girls were ranked as second lieutenants."

"That's a pretty good reason."

"But then of course, you came along and joined. I think back to some of your battle ideas and you've helped everyone through a mission, especially when we work together. You may not be the ring leader, but I am very impressed with how far you've come."

"Thanks Forte."

"Well, I better let you go. This was a good start for your tour of our rooms."

"Wait, a tour?"

"Oops…guess I gave that away, haha. Go on now, we'll talk again another time."

I giggled, leaving Forte's room. As I left, I saw Mint showing up who was humming away. "Oh Arnold, would you like some tea?"

"Sure Mint, I'd like to."

"Then come in to my room, don't be shy."

I followed Mint into her room and it was very elegant, although there was one part of her room that had a closet full of costumes.

"What kind of tea would you like?"

"Oooh, a rich tea please."

Moments later, she brought a cup for me along with bag of candy.

"This is your first time in my room, isn't it?" Mint asked.

"Yeah, I never got around to asking you girls for a look in your rooms." I replied. "I'm always in Milfie's room whenever I have time."

"Ohhh, so that's how it is. Milfie gets you all to herself, I see."

I was blushing bright red "Uhhh, I didn't mean it like that!"

Mint began to laugh. "Ha ha ha ha, just teasing. I know that you mean well and that you wouldn't hurt her."

"That's good, man you got me there."

"I may behave like an elegant girl, but I'm also quite childish on the inside and I like causing a bit of mischief."

"Speaking of which, are you able to read what's on my mind right now?"

Her bunny ears began to twitch. "Ah yes, you're saying 'I wonder how Ranpha and Tact are getting along.' Is that right?"

"Yeah that's correct. I do wonder about those two, I heard they sang a song together although most of the people who saw it didn't see the way they told us."

"Oh yes, there may be something going on but I won't use my telepathy on them, I want those two to work it out themselves."

"Mmm, this is good tea and these candies are tasty."

"They're made in rich candy, but they're not cheap."

"I can see why, they're very good."

"I should be going to bed now, Arnold." Mint said, getting up. "Come to my room anytime you want to have tea and candy with me."

"Thanks Mint, I'll see you soon." I replied, giving her a quick hug.

I left her room and as I left, I knocked on Milfie's door.

"It's unlocked, but don't come in yet." Milfie said, so I waited. "Okay, you can come in now."

I walked in and saw her in her nightwear, I guess she was about to go to bed.

"Oh excuse me, I didn't realize you were going to bed."

"It's okay Arnold, I'll see you in the morning." Milfie replied. "By the way, I have something to tell you. I asked the girls to give you a tour of their rooms, so have you had a tour yet."

"Ahhh so that's why. Yeah, Forte and Mint gave me a tour. I've haven't seen Ranpha or Vanilla yet."

"I think Vanilla is busy researching information on the kafukafu hay fever and Ranpha has just finished her exercise in the gym."

"I see, have a goodnight Milfie." I kissed her on the lips.

"Goodnight Arnold."

We smiled and I left her room. As soon as I did, Ranpha showed up.

"Oh hey Arnold, what's up?" Ranpha asked.

"Mint and Forte gave me a tour of their rooms, because I haven't visited any of your rooms apart from Milfie's since I joined the angel wing. Do you have time to give me a tour?"

Ranpha pondered, looking at me. "Actually, I've been wanting to have a word with you. Come with me to my room, we'll talk there."

"Okay."

Ranpha opened the door and I went into her room. I wasn't expecting it to be quite classy and traditional. There was a horoscope chart and I saw a wooden piece on the table tied to a string.

"Have a seat, Arnold." She said.

I took a seat by the table and she sat beside me.

"Okay, there's something on my mind, but I want some assurance from a guy's perspective."

"I see, so what is it?"

"What do you think of Tact Mayers?"

"I think he's a very reliable commander, has a habit of his hunches being usually right and he always wants to help others, mostly when it comes to us."

"I see, well I think that he's also a really good guy. I'm actually beginning to like him a lot. Like the time when there was a power cut in the park and everything was dark, he stayed closed to me and held on to my hand."

"Oh yeah, that was the time when we had that probe invading the ship."

"Yes, he's also been mostly wanting to see me the most and the more I see him and what I learn from him, the more that I really begin to like him. So want I wanna know does he like me back the same way I do?"

"Well from a guy's point of view, I wanna answer but I kinda promised Tact that I would stay out of his personal issues."

"Oh, I see…"

"But at the same time, it would be wrong for me to not tell you what I know. So I just wanna say that whatever we speak now shouldn't leave this room."

Ranpha nodded. "Yeah, I got it. I promise that what we say won't get out of here."

"Thank you." I took a deep breath. "The truth is, I believe Tact is beginning to develop feelings for you as well. But because of his responsibility as commander of the ship, he is unable to find the time to put words together and he's kind of a slow learner."

"Really?"

"Yeah and I think that the more you two spend time, the more of a chance that something wonderful will happen. Think of it as a fortune telling from me, if you wish."

Ranpha giggled. "Well you're no fortune teller, but it's good to know that Tact feels the same way with me. Thank you for that, Arnold, you're a really good guy. I'm almost jealous that Milfie has you, but I support you both 100%."

"Thanks Ranpha." I replied, sharing a friendly hug. "I guess I better go now."

"Okay, goodnight Arnold."

I smiled, leaving her room. So that's three rooms down, one more to go. Taking a chance, I knocked on Vanilla's door.

"Who is it?" Vanilla asked.

"It's Arnold." I replied. "Mind if I come in?"

"I'm sorry Arnold, but I am in the middle of researching on the hay fever, perhaps another time?"

"Okay Vanilla, don't worry about it. You carry on with what you need to do."

"Thank you, goodnight Arnold."

"Yeah, goodnight."

Well, it was almost a full house of tours, but if Vanilla is busy then it would be best for me to go to bed too and try again tomorrow when there's free time.

I woke up the next morning and first thing to do is to check up on Vanilla. Getting dressed and ready, I knocked on her door, but there was no reply.

"Hmm, I guess she's not in her room." I said to myself. "Maybe I can try the whale room, she likes the animals after all."

So I made my way to the whale room and was welcomed to a bright morning, no sooner that I turned up, Tact arrived as well.

"Morning Tact." I said.

"Morning Arnold." He replied. "What brings you here?"

"I was gonna check on Vanilla."

"Really, I had the same idea. I'm worried about her."

"I don't blame you, I'm beginning to as well."

We walked over to Kuromie's office and he showed us Vanilla who was with the space rabbits. She looked quite innocent and cute, watching over them.

"Oh…hi Tact." Vanilla said, turning around. "Did you have business with me?"

"Yes I do." Tact replied. "Vanilla, you don't look good. You seem unsteady right now."

I had a closer look and he was right, she was stumbling a little bit. I think that any moment now she's gonna collapse and that's not good news.

"No I am fine." Vanilla protested.

"I do not agree. Listen up, take a day off from work. That's an order."

"But-"

"You need to rest sometimes." I added. "How about you stay with the space rabbits?"

"There is work left to do."

"But if you keep this up, you're going to destroy your body."

"Do not worry, Arnold. This much is of no concern."

Tact and I were kind of at a loss, she was being a little bit stubborn.

"I must try harder so that I can become mature."

"But why are you doing this?" Tact asked.

"Long ago, I made an oath to Sister Beryl…"

"Sister Beryl?" I muttered, wondering who that was.

"I must…be…going…"

She turned around and was about to walk away…when suddenly…she fainted on the sand. I knew that was gonna happen…Vanilla was in need of emergency help.

"Vanilla are you okay…Vanilla, Vanilla!" Tact exclaimed.

I picked her up and carried her to the infirmary as carefully and quickly as I could.

Sometime later, Tact stayed in the infirmary with Vanilla whilst I told the girls what happened, they were quite shocked but relieved that Vanilla was okay.

* * *

The next day came by and we were waiting in the lounge, hoping she was well enough to get back to work. Tact came by to let us know and that he thanked us for visiting her one by one yesterday.

"Good morning." We heard Vanilla say.

"Vanilla!" Forte replied. "What a relief, you're looking better now."

"I was so worried. Did you sleep okay?" Ranpha asked.

"Yes I am fine now." Vanilla replied. "I will not push myself too hard anymore.

"That's good to know." I said.

"Here you go, I made a tea chiffon cake just for you." Milfie said.

"And here is a chamomile drink, is that okay?" Mint asked.

"Yes, thank you very much." Vanilla replied. "I am…happy to have you all as my friends. Do you…feel the same?"

"Of course we do." Ranpha replied, smiling.

"You're an irreplaceable part of the Angel Wing." Forte added. "And a treasured companion."

"Thank you…all of you." Vanilla said as I gave her a caring hug.

Tact then received a call. "Lester, respond."

"We're about to approach the destination where our allied fleet is, get to the bridge soon." Lester replied.

"Got it, I'm on my way." Tact looked at us. "Looks like we're about to get into a battle."

"Alright, it's been a while since we've had some action." I replied.

"Let's go Angels, to the hangers!" Forte declared.

We nodded, leaving the lounge whilst Tact rushed to the bridge, we walked to the hanger and got into our emblem frames. My Silver Speeder had been sitting there for some time, I'm sure it wouldn't be rusty.

Vanilla put us on a line as we were standing by. "This is the Angel Wing. All preparations to sortie are complete."

"It's been a long time since we've fought with an allied fleet." Forte added.

"At least its one fleet this time, compared to the two we had to break through last time." I said.

The hanger doors opened and one by one we flew out into the open space. The radar came on with Tact's face.

"Our forces are here on the east side of that asteroid." He explained. "Our allies are on the west side. The enemy fleet is approaching us from the north, it may divide into two in an attempt to divide and conquer us."

"Arnold, since the admiral is present, I would like you to prove your worth to the military, what is your idea?"

I nodded. "I'll do my best…for a long time, we've had to play defence and struggle against the odds. Let's look at Eonia's fleet right in the eyes and show them what we've got by taking out their flagship!"

"Yes, understood, Arnold." Milfie replied.

"Yeah, that's the way, we'll show them." Ranpha added.

"Okay Arnold, we'll take your idea." Tact said. "This carrier in the back is the flagship. You are ordered to destroy it that is all."

The battle began to start and I felt a bit of surge coming from the Harvester, looks like Vanilla will be on top form for this battle. In front of us were three destroyers, Milfie, Ranpha and I each took out a destroyer. The Elsior began to move to the west so it wouldn't get attacked easily.

I checked the radar to see three other destroyers dealing with the allied ships, they were okay for now. But I spotted the main enemy fleet not breaking away as I thought they were.

Cruisers were coming in range with a missile frigate and two battleships, looks like we're gonna have to fight our way through in order to get to the carrier and take it out.

I flew in first and evaded the missiles as I went straight for the carrier.

"Gah!" I exclaimed as a few missiles hit me. "That was a direct hit…looks like these automated ships are getting better at accuracy."

"Repair Wave!" I heard Vanilla speak.

Suddenly, my ship's health was back to normal. "Thanks Vanilla, that was close."

Now I could proceed onwards and soon I was in range of the carrier whilst the other angels took out the cruisers. My gattling guns and heat seeker missiles brought the carrier down to 50%. My spirit level was not there yet, guess I'll have to make do with my main attacks.

Soon the carrier was destroyed as it exploded, that's the flagship gone.

"Enemy flagship destroyed." Coco said. "Remaining enemy ships are retreating."

"Well, that was quick." I muttered. "Let's withdraw too."

"Agreed." Forte replied.

We returned to the Elsior and went right to the bridge, there was apparently one more day until we were able to reach Rhome and the city of Fargo that was close by.

After the debriefing, Tact went with Vanilla. Probably to find her a space rabbit or something. But my main thought was about the room tour.

Sometime later, I was in the lounge when Vanilla came up to me.

"Arnold, you want the room tour?" she asked.

"Sure, lead the way." I replied.

"I shall."

I followed Vanilla up to the angels' rooms, she opened the door to her room and I went inside. It was kind similar to Mint's, but there were a lot less features. Apart from a flower she kept in a vase as well as a shelf of medical books.

"Is my room okay?" she asked.

"It is, it has a nice and warm presence and the flower in the vase gives it a nice touch." I replied.

"Thank you." Vanilla sat by me and I sat down. "I must tell you…I am really happy that you're part of the angel wing."

"Well I thank you and to think that I used to be a maintenance crew worker."

Vanilla nodded. "Yes, we were grateful that you would help repair our emblem frames after combat."

"But now I am more than that, by the way. Did you get a pet today?"

"Yes, I now have a space rabbit and I've called him BunBun."

"BunBun, that's a cute name, I like it."

"Thanks…and how have you been doing with the sugar level?"

"Very well, Milfie now keeps a sugar level chart in her room, she loves me so much that she looks out for my health."

"That's good, you two…deserve each other." Vanilla smiled. "But don't forget about the rest of us."

"I will never forget any of you. I know that Milfie cares for you all as well."

"Yes…would you like to leave?"

"Yeah, I promised that I would spend the rest of today with Milfie after the battle."

"That's okay, I'll see you again soon."

"Sure, see you Vanilla."

I gave her a quick hug and left her room. Now my room tour was complete, I can go and find Milfie. She'll probably be in the park I guess…so I walked over there.

There she was, standing by the flowers and the petals that had fallen from the tree.

"Milfie, I'm here for you." I said.

"La la la la…oh Arnold, over here." She replied.

I walked over to her and hugged her tight, kissing her gently on the lips. This was gonna be a very good day with her for the rest of the day.


	8. Unexpected Ray Of Hope

Unexpected Ray Of Hope

The next day, I had a bit of headache so I was unable to come to the bridge when asked by Tact. Milfie however assured me that it would be alright and that the girls would let me know what happened when they get back.

All I knew right now was that we were now outside Fargo, waiting for a docking area to become available. This is where we would also be dropping off Prince Shiva, which was one good news we were happy about. The escort mission was successful.

Later during the lunch hour when my head was a lot better, I was with Milfie and we just had our lunch when we received a call by Tact to come to the bridge.

We all reported when we arrived and then Tact explained the situation.

"…and that's how it is." He said. "By the end of tomorrow evening, I'll be dismissed as commander of the Angel Wing and Elsior."

I opened my eyes widely.

"Ehhh?" Milfie said. "Tact, you're leaving?"

"From the Elsior." He replied.

"That means I'll be leaving with him as well." Lester added.

"Yeah Lester, you'll also have to pack up. Everybody that's how it has to be. Thank you for everything up to now."

"No…we all fought so hard together to make it this far." Mint said. "Can't we do anything?"

"I think that's very unlikely." I replied. "It has to be a direct order."

"But Tact, do they think we'll be happier if they separate us from you?" Ranpha asked.

"Unfortunate." Vanilla added. "I…was...happy…to be with you."

"Me too." Tact replied. "They haven't chosen a successor yet, but as soon as one is named, I'll let you know."

"Right…it's natural for a soldier." Forte said. "You all too, send him off with a smile. That's part of our job too."

"Yeah, but here's something that will cheer you up. Tomorrow evening, there'll be a ball to welcome Prince Shiva. Everybody in the Angel Wing is invited."

Ranpha immediately perked up and based on what we talked about the other day, I had a feeling that she had something in mind.

"The military will take care of the cost, so please go into Fargo and pick up whatever clothing you'd like for it."

"Well, that is quite a generous thing to say." Mint replied.

"I shall gladly do that, I gotta do what I can to be a sharp dressed man." I boasted.

"Hold on there, mister." Forte teased. "If you're gonna do that, I'll go one better and pick a special brand."

Tact laughed. "Don't go too far. The cost does go back to the taxpayers."

"A ball! A ball! What kind of dress should I wear?" Ranpha said excitedly.

"This'll be fun!" Milfie added.

"Anyway, you're all dismissed." Tact said.

So we left the bridge and all of us were a little sad to hear the news. But orders are orders and I knew this too well, considering what my jobs have been.

"Say Milfie." I said to her.

"Hmm?"

"Since we're now at Fargo, shall we take a walk around the city and pick out what we want to wear?"

Milfie perked up. "Yeah! Just the two of us!"

We both smiled, holding hands as we left the Elsior via bridge that took us out to dock and then entrance to the city.

"Woah! This place is bigger than I thought." I commented. "We'll definitely be spoiled for choice here."

"Maybe if we're lucky, we might find a cake store." Milfie giggled.

"I don't think we need your luck to find a store like that, but I'll believe it for you."

"Oh you, Arnold…" she kissed me on the cheek.

We explored the city, holding on to each other and not letting go. There was indeed cake store where Milfie purchased a few small cakes for us.

Then we came to a pair of stores that we really needed to visit. Two fashion stores were side by side, one was a trendy and elegant looking store that had outfits for men and the other had a lively and flowery entrance for the ladies.

"Arnold, look at these." Milfie said. "I'm gonna head into the ladies store, you'll be okay with the men's, won't you?"

"I'll be fine, don't you worry about me, as long as you're safe too." I replied.

"Yeah, if something comes up, I'll contact you."

I kissed Milfie on the cheek, let go of her hand and walked into the men's store. Inside, everything was top-notch. There were high quality shoes, trousers, shirts and smooth jackets. This place definitely had what I was looking for.

"Excuse me mister." A store worker spoke. "Are you looking for anything in particular?"

I looked back at the employee. "Just a pre-made suit with the usual features if you've got any."

"Of course, we have our finest outfits down to the right here."

"Thanks."

I walked over to the suits and then, I found the ideal suit I was looking for. A trendy black jacket with a white shirt, black trousers and a top classy shoes. I grabbed a huge box that pre-packaged what I needed and brought it to the checkout and told them to send the bill to the military, although it took a lot of convincing to get it through to the cashier.

I was happy with my purchase and left the store. I took a seat by a café that was opposite the store and decided to wait there for Milfie. Soon though, she came out and I waved over to her. She was able to see me and walked over, taking a seat by me.

"Did you find what you needed?" I asked.

"Yes and I love the dress." Milfie replied. "What did you get?"

"A trendy suit with a tailcoat jacket."

"Wow, you're gonna so handsome tomorrow."

"Thanks and I'm sure you're gonna look beautiful."

"Hmmm…wait, isn't that Tact…and Ranpha?"

"Where?"

Milfie pointed at two people and I saw them. "You're right, it is them and look at Tact who seems to be carrying so many gifts."

"Looks like Tact made his decision."

I nodded. "Yeah and I think he's made the right choice. He and Ranpha do look good together, but we'll see that all shine soon."

"I hope so." Milfie replied, holding my hand.

"Shall we go back yet?" she asked, looking into my eyes.

"Yeah, I wanna try out my suit for tomorrow." I replied, looking back and almost getting lost.

* * *

It was then the next evening, I and the five girls had already left the Elsior to attend the ball at Fargo Palace. We were inside the ballroom area and the event has just started.

"Awww, look at you two." Mint commented.

Milfie was in her pink dress with red ribbons and a red wreath on her head, she looked absolutely beautiful. I was in my trendy suit and I was indeed a sharp dressed man as I said I would be.

"You're a very cute couple." Forte added.

"Lovey dovey." Vanilla said with a smile, I knew she was teasing.

The rest of the girls were in their dresses too, each of them looked very lovely.

"I hope Tact isn't late." Ranpha said.

Just then, I heard footsteps rushing in, speak of the devil.

"Hi Tact." Milfie greeted as I waved at him.

"Ah Milfie and Arnold." He replied in a huff. "Sorry, I'm late, I got wrapped up in work…"

"It's okay man." I replied. "You're just in time…"

"There you are Tact." Ranpha said. "Well...what do you think?"

Tact looked amazed and I didn't blame him. "You look very…very beautiful."

Ranpha blushed a little, but she tried to cover it up. "Don't you have anything more intelligent to say?"

"What do you mean, I was just honestly saying what I thought."

"Yeah, but this is a really fancy place. So can't you say something more fitting?"

"I guess I could try harder."

Ranpha smiled. "Well not now, it's awkward to have you say that right in front of me."

Tact was silent.

"Well then, I guess maybe I should be honest with how I feel too. Thanks Tact, I'm happy."

Suddenly, the music began to play, it was starting already.

"Looks like we better move away from the dancefloor." I said. "Oooh, cakes."

"You saw them before Milfie did?" Forte asked. "I think Milfie's charm is rubbing off on you."

"Oh Forte." Milfie laughed. "Come on, Arnold."

"I'm coming." I replied as we walked over to the cake stall. "Mmmm, these look good."

A while later, Tact came up to us. "Hey there, have you seen Ranpha?"

"I haven't seen her." I replied. "I think Forte might know, she wanted to watch over us just in case."

"Okay, thanks anyway." And off he went.

I now realized that the Elsior won't be the same without him. The music changed then, it was time for the Waltz.

"Milfie." I said. "Do you hear the music?"

"Yeah…I'm not sure if I can dance." Milfie replied.

"It's alright, just follow my lead."

I took her hand and brought her to the dancefloor. We began to move to the Waltz and Milfie seemed to be getting the hang of it. It was a romantic moment between us, there were others dancing. But in our eyes, it was just the two of us.

I hoped this night would not end…until disaster struck.

Suddenly a loud explosion occurred and everyone was in shock.

"What was that?!" Milfie exclaimed, wrapping her arms around me.

I hugged her tight. "Trouble has just arrived…I have a bad feeling about this."

"There's someone outside!" I heard a voice say.

Milfie and I ran out of the ballroom, out of the palace to the outdoors where we saw… a huge squad of soldiers and…no, it can't be!

"Attention all of you, ladies and gentleman." Eonia spoke. "First of all, let me apologize for the chaos of intruding uninvited."

"Eonia!" Tact said who just showed up with Ranpha. "Why is he here?"

Then Forte, Vanilla and Mint arrived too, I was glad they were all safe.

"We appear to have been deceived." Vanilla said.

"But how were they able to get here?" Mint asked.

"The port is lightly guarded." Forte answered." Ships come in and out of here every day."

Then the admiral and his aide showed up. "Eei! Move, open a path…Eonia, what are you doing?"

"Guards!" his aide added. "What are you doing, arrest this man at once!"

"No, wait…let's hear what you have to say."

Eonia chuckled. "Then I'll accept your kind invitation. I offer you a chance of a lifetime. If you bring me my cousin Shiva, everything will be fine."

"Wait…Eonia and Shiva are cousins?" I muttered.

"Oh really, then what happens?" the admiral asked.

"I will spare the life whoever presents him to me. Let's see who the smartest one is. You have one minute."

Just then, Prince Shiva turned up, I guess that was the only sensible option.

"I am here!" He said.

"Ahhh Shiva, it is good to meet you cousin." Eonia replied. "I didn't expect you to come out on your own."

"Cousin or not, traitor. In the name of Transbaal, you will face justice!"

Eonia was not intimidated. "Aren't we brave? You're going to punish me, but who's holding the guns? You still have a lot learn."

"Silence!"

A laser shot occurred and we were in shock.

"Wait, that laser…went through me." Shiva spoke.

"I wanted to see you grow up a little bit more. I'm sorry, but nobody will be able to see that now."

And just like that, he and the guards vanished…

"Wait a minute." I said. "That was just a hologram, he was never here to begin with."

Tact nodded in agreement.

Suddenly, more explosions happened.

"We're being bombarded!" the admiral exclaimed. "A surprise attack on Fargo, where are they?!"

"Where's our fleet, your excellency!" his aide added in fright.

"Impossible! This is impossible!" Both of them fled, trying to find cover.

Suddenly, Shiva's maid…and Lester showed up!

"Lester!" Tact said.

"Quick Tact, get on the Elsior!" he replied. "An enemy fleet is attacking Fargo!"

"We have to go now, even if it's tonight, Tact is still in charge of the Elsior and Angel Wing." I added.

We all rushed as fast as we could to the Elsior. We were all safe inside and then realized that we will have to prepare ourselves. We went to our rooms and changed out of our fancy outfits and back into our uniforms, rushing back to the hanger and getting into our Emblem Frames.

It was all in a rush, but we were now ready to go. The hanger doors opened and out we went to quickly survey the combat area. There were several enemy automated ships approaching, there was also civilian cargo ships and allied ships around Fargo.

Just then, we received a transmission, five fighters have appeared…oh it's them again!

"Good evening, members of the Angel Wing of the Elsior." Camus greeted.

"Nooo, not this guy again!" Milfie exclaimed.

"Ahh, my honey! I was so worried that you would be at some man's hand other than mine."

I couldn't stand by at that point. "Hold on mister, she isn't your honey." I intervened. "That's Milfie you're talking to, my girlfriend, who is everyone's best friend and I love her with all of my heart."

"You tell him, Arnold." Ranpha added. "Wait, are those your fighters?"

"That's right!" Guinness replied. "You kicked our asses pretty hard last time, it's not gonna happen again!"

"If you think for a moment, it's not hard to imagine that." Mint smirked.

"Hrpmh! You won't be able to talk like that much longer." Riserva said. "You won before because of the Emblem Frames, I'll show you that."

"Oh, looks like you have new models." Forte replied. "But when we beat you, you won't be able to run your mouths afterwards."

"Our new power…is the power of the Emblem Frames." Red Eye said. "You'll learn that the hard way…"

"Emblem Frames?" Vanilla asked.

"That's right." Vermouth replied. "You're all going to be twisted up and destroyed."

"Don't pay attention to what they're saying." Tact intervened. "Get ready for combat."

The radar showed on my screen with a battle plan. Apparently, we are at one part of Fargo, facing towards the North West where the Hell Hounds are, followed by a pair of high-speed frigates and a carrier. There were enemies coming from the north and north east too, they're obviously trying to go after the civilian ships.

"Tact, do you want me to break away and protect the civilians?" I offered.

"No, I have a better idea." He replied. "Ranpha, I want you to break away and head to the east, take out any ships that come near the civilians."

"Got it, Tact." Ranpha replied happily. "After our dance from earlier, I'm all fired up now."

"The rest of you, keep the Hell Hounds away from the Elsior which will be guarding one of the civilian ships behind us. We'll need to be fast in case any enemy reinforcements arrive."

The battle began and Ranpha broke away from us to take down the ships to the East, there were allied ships ordered to take out the enemy ships at the north. The rest of us charged at the Hell Hounds whilst the Elsior turned to get away from the front line.

One of the Hell Hounds slipped by as I was almost caught off guard by the frigates. Eventually, I mowed them both down and then proceeded to catch up with the hell hound fighter and down he went, I think that was Guinness's fighter I took out.

The girls had it covered meanwhile as Ranpha cleaned house with her anchor claw on the east part of the map, wiping out the three destroyers that turned up too.

Soon, the hell hounds were gone, but the automated ships were still present and the missile frigates at the North were gone. Things were looking good for us, there was only one carrier left as well as three other destroyers that has appeared from the west.

"Girls, deal with that carrier." I said. "I'll get rid of those destroyers."

Soon my spirit awoke to max, time to call it in. "SPIKE DRIVER!" My driller easily chewed through a destroyer, blowing it up…I checked the radar to see nothing red remained and the civilian ships had all made it to safety.

"Enemy fighters are retreating." Coco said.

"Have we…won?" Lester asked.

"I hope so, but give me a run-down of the situation." Tact replied.

All six of us regrouped outside the Elsior, waiting to come back in, when Camus showed on our screens again. "Not too bad, Arnold. But you are just one man."

I rolled my eyes. "Being one man is all I need, but you wouldn't understand that."

"Hmph…it seems like our time limit is up. We must be going now….Milfie, our parting must now be in such sweet sorrow. I'll miss you, adieu."

"Get lost, you creep!" Milfie yelled.

"We'll call this a tie!" Guinness said. "Next time, Ranpha, we'll finish this!"

"Whatever…keep spewing out your words, you'll never beat me." Ranpha replied.

"You're already going back?" Mint asked sarcastically. "Like always, retreating seems to be your speciality."

"Say that while you can." Riserva replied. "Even the Blancmanche lady does not understand our noble plan."

"Can't you come up with something better?" Forte asked. "We're bored already."

"You'll realize soon enough…" Red replied. "We…do not bluff."

"That's right." Vermouth added. "Well, this was just a test run for the Emblem Frames. We'll leave this to you."

"The same pattern are always." Vanilla said.

The Hell Hounds immediately left, we flew back in the Elsior and rested. Suddenly, alarms went off.

"Huge power surge from an unknown source detected!" Coco exclaimed "We need to move out of the way!"

Whatever was going on outside…I didn't want to know.

I wanted to be out of the frame, but it seems Tact had other ideas.

"Here's the new situation." He said. "A huge object called The Black Moon has appeared, it is producing one automated ship after another at an alarming rate."

"The Black Moon?" I asked.

"Moments ago, it fired a huge laser that obliterated the city section of Fargo and hit the planet of Rhome, the planet still stands, but several chunks of it has been blown away in epics."

My jaw almost literally dropped…I nearly wanted to throw up, but I had to keep my composure. "So what's our objective?"

"I'm getting to that now. We have to break through their defence line if we want a chance at destroying the Black Moon." A radar showed on our screen.

"Our forces are here in the top right, we have allied battleships at our side who will attack ships to the left." He continued. "The main bulk of the forces will be coming at us from the bottom, whilst the bottom left contains our target, this is a defence satellite."

So our goal is to take out that satellite, not a problem, I thought as we left the hanger and back out into the open.

The battle began and as the Elsior moved, we charged at the main attack force. Ranpha and I agreed to take those high-speed frigates out whilst the others eliminate the cruisers and destroyers. Once they were gone, we went right to the missile frigates that were defending the satellite.

"I'll take that satellite out." Forte said. "You deal with those frigates."

"Got it." I replied as me, Milfie, Mint, Ranpha and Vanilla each eliminated a frigate.

"Alright, my turn….STRIKE BURST!" Forte yelled as a whole barrage of missiles rained down on the satellite, destroying it immediately.

"Primary target destroyed." Coco said.

"Stay out there, Angels." Tact added. "It's not over yet."

Then more bad news came along, we were approaching the next attack line where there were more satellites present as well as a few frigates and carriers guarding them when suddenly, the systems on my ship went offline.

Seems everyone else's went off too, the Black Moon must've fired some kind of EMP attack, neutralizing our electronic systems.

Milfie made the call. "Tact! The Emblem Frames suddenly stopped moving, what happened?"

"I'm trying to restart the engine, but it won't do anything!" Ranpha added.

"It's not just us." I added too. "The Elsior doesn't seem to be moving and the allied ships are down too."

A huge array of missiles came our way, we couldn't move or dodge, each missile was a direct hit. This was extraordinarily bad and unless something happened, we were done for.

Suddenly, Tact spoke with a firm tone. "Everybody, you cannot give up! What happens if we give up here?"

Tact was right, we got this far because we never gave up. "You are right Tact, what good would come of it, if we were to just lie down here? We have to believe in our power and we have to believe in ourselves." I added. "For we are the Angel Wing…BECAUSE IT'S OUR DESTINY!"

Suddenly, a source of power came from inside our frames. All our systems were back online I then gasped as I noticed angel wings appearing on the frames. I felt even stronger than ever before.

"Girls, we have a chance to come back!" Tact said. "Here's the map."

We were on the top left as before, this time there were five high-speed frigates and two carriers, along with eight of those satellites, we had no time to waste, a second battle in a row was about to begin.

The battle started and we went right for the first satellite right around the same time the frigates were in our range. The girls took care of them whilst I went to the satellite and gave what I had. My weapons took it down quite quickly.

The frigates were soon gone, they re-joined with me just in time for the carriers to come close to our range. We split into two groups of three and dealt with them both easily. Now we just had the satellites take out and I was in awe to see each girl's special attack come out to light.

"HYPER CANNON!"

"ANCHOR CLAW!"

"FLIER DANCE!"

"STRIKE BURST"

"REPAIR WAVE!"

Four of the satellites were gone already and as I took one out, my spirit level was high and went on to the next one with my special attack at the ready.

"SPIKE DRIVER!"

I rammed right at the satellite and it broke in two by my driller. Even a satellite as tough as that is no match for my drilling attack. There were three satellites left and we went in pairs to finish them off.

"All satellites destroyed." Coco said.

"Alright, we've broken through." Tact added. "Let's charge at the Black Moon."

"Got it…wait a minute." I said, noticing the wings on my frame disappearing. "The wings have gone."

"Mine's gone too." Milfie added. "My frame is falling back to normal level."

"Ahhh I see." Tact replied. "In that case let's withdraw for now and get out of here."

We nodded as we left the combat area and boarded the Elsior. We were told that we would be meeting with the allied fleet at a safe rendezvous point. We got out of our frames and walked to the bridge.

"Excuse me, the Angel Wing's back." Milfie said.

"Good work everyone." Tact replied.

"On the way over, we had a quick look at the damage that was caused earlier…it was awful." Forte said.

"I'm surprised that the civilians were able to escape." Mint added.

"But there were a considerable number of casualties." Vanilla pointed out, that was the one I didn't need to know.

"As things are, it'll take at least two or three days to get back in order here." Ranpha said.

"Commander Mayers, communication from Luft." Almo intervened.

"Tact, I'm glad that you survived." Luft said.

"Same to you, what's the situation?" Tact asked.

"Simply put that I'm the acting commander of the entire fleet. While the admiral and his aide were escaping Fargo, they were attacked by Eonia's forces…"

"I see…"

"There's no one else above me that is still around, so I'm in charge now."

"So there were that many victims." Shiva said glumly.

"However you are still safe, Prince, so we'll count our blessings. Tact I am entrusting you to once again resume command of the Elsior and Angel Wing, will you accept?"

"Of course, thank you." Tact replied.

"Good, in any case. Go ahead and get some rest. Admiral Luft out."

"Alright everyone, I'm back in command again."

"That's probably the best news we've heard today." I replied.

Everyone else nodded, except Ranpha who felt a bit shy and was blushing.

"Ranpha…" Tact said.

"Tact…I'm really glad you're staying." Ranpha replied.

"Alright angels, get some rest for now. I'm sure you're all tired after the last few battles."

"Well, I'll go ahead and get some rest then." Forte said. "Let's go, people."

All of us, apart from Ranpha left the bridge. I was very tired at the moment and I think Milfie could tell as well.

"Come with me to my room, Arnold." She said. "You look tired."

"Alright…thanks." I replied with a smile.

"You two have fun now, okay?" Mint teased.

Milfie and I giggled as we left them, we walked into her room and all I could think was the bed. I took off my shoes and laid down on it and I felt much better.

"Your bed is more soft and relaxing than mine." I said with a happy sigh.

"Yeah, sometimes I oversleep because it's so warm." Milfie replied. "Anyways, I want you to rest well. I wanna have a bit of time to myself, but right now I wanna say thank you. You showed me a little how to dance and I was falling in love with you again."

"It was okay. I was doing it all for the girl I love and that is you. Take as long as you need."

"Thank you…I'll be back later." She walked towards me and kissed me on the lips, before leaving the room.

"Well, nothing else than to just sleep here…uh oh…I'm falling…to...sleep."

Suddenly, I drifted off and began to sleep, I hope Milfie doesn't mind.


	9. Tact's Feelings

Tact's Feelings

I slowly opened up my eyes the next day, I looked at the roof and remembered that I was still in Milfie's room, I must've slept here all this time. That left me wondering where Milfie was.

"Zzz…cuu…" I heard, faintly.

I looked to my side and was surprised. Milfie was sleeping away with tiny yet cute snores coming from her. She looked so sweet and innocent, sleeping.

"Don't…go…please…" she then turned around and grabbed my waist.

"I'll never leave you." I whispered into her ear.

She was still fast asleep, but she showed a smile and I didn't wanna wake her up. So I put my arms around her shoulders and gently brought her close. Then came the mood killer…a pain in my head came back.

"Owww….my head." I tried saying not loud. "It hurts today, I thought it was gone."

Then Milfie woke up and opened her eyes… "Another headache?" she asked.

I nodded, looking quite sad.

"Go to the infirmary, I'll let Tact know."

"Thank you Milfie, you're such an angel." I smiled as we got out of the bed.

She kissed me and left the room, I noticed that I was still in my uniform so I didn't need to change, which was a good thing. But then again, I haven't showered since yesterday.

I walked to the infirmary to find Doctor Cera present.

"Oh, good morning, Romeo." Cera teased.

"Ha de ha de ha-ow." I remarked "Morning Doctor…"

"Is there something the matter?"

"Yeah, I have this headache which I thought was gone a few days ago."

"Have you been drinking enough fluids?"

"Ever since the last few battles, I haven't had the time to drink."

"Ah I see. In that case, drink a few glasses of this still water." She brought out a water bottle which felt cold. "This will help you for now."

"Thank you, doctor." I opened it up and took a long sip. I eventually started gulping it down at a continuous rate. "Ahhh, that feels a lot better, my throat's not dry anymore."

"That's good, but take it easy with the drinking. Don't forget your breakfast too."

"Not a problem, I'm one step ahead of you on that one." I winked.

"I mean as in a proper breakfast, not just Milfie's cakes."

"I was just teasing, I know what you mean. I'm off to get my breakfast now."

"Don't forget that bottle."

I nodded, taking the bottle with me as I left the infirmary and walked to the cafeteria.

"Good morning mister knight in shining armour." The chef mistress greeted. "Is our Romeo in need of breakfast?"

"Morning." I replied. "I sure do, but you don't have to call me those things."

"I'll try not to in future. Either way, I shall prepare your breakfast with love."

I giggled. "I'd leave that to my girlfriend, but thank you."

Breakfast then arrived and it was so worth getting up for, I ate away, pausing to drink a few times. Soon my breakfast was gone and I was ready for the rest of the day.

I walked over to the hanger, just to look at my Emblem Frame. I was amazed that the wings could appear on the sides, but then disappear again. Then I wondered why I had to come to the bridge had it not been for my headache earlier.

"Oh Arnold, there you are." I heard Creta spoke. "Are you feeling better?"

Milfie must've told them about my headache. "Yeah, after having a much needed breakfast and drinking much needed fluids, I feel better."

"Good to hear, I wanted to come find you and tell you about the wings you had on the frames."

"Okay, I'm all ears."

Creta explained to me about them and with Shiva's help, apparently the power within the frames had been rewritten. As if the interiors parts inside were reborn, powers that were hidden deep inside awoke during the last battle, although the engineering team have yet to complete their studies on it. But what she did know was that our features increased whilst the wings were present.

"That is a lot to take in, but I can understand why in a few places." I said, scratching my head.

"It would explain why you were able to perform at your best like you did before." Creta replied. "If Lady Shatyan was here, she would be able to help explain more."

"Ahhh, are you thinking what I'm thinking?"

"Yes, I believe that we must go to The White Moon."

I nodded. "And I may have figured out why. Lord Eonia will want to get there before we do."

"Yes, but there's more. There is a hidden weapon inside the White Moon, I hear that it may have been a part that used to be fitted on the Elsior, but I'm not sure what it is."

"Okay, I'm up to date on all of that."

"Good, we are on course to the White Moon as we speak. It should take a day or two before we get there."

"But Eonia might try to stall us, in which case we'll have to stay vigilant when we're not in Chrono drive."

Creta smiled. "Always on the ball as usual. I'm glad Milfie has someone like you."

"Really, does everyone know about me and her?"

Creta blushed. "Well...some of us may have slipped it out of our tongues. But we don't mention it at all. We're all happy for you and Milfie, nothing more."

I giggled. "Okay, I'll head off now. Milfie will be wondering where I am."

I left the hanger and walked back up to the angel's room, when suddenly, I saw Ranpha rushing by and she looked to be in tears. She ran into her room and slide the door shut, locking it from inside.

I instantly thought of one thing. "Oh Tact…what have you done now?"

I knocked on her door, hoping to get answer, but she was crying away.

"Go away!" she cried. "I'm sorry, but I don't wanna see anyone!"

"I understand, Ranpha." I replied.

Just then, Tact turned up.

"Arnold, did she go into her room?" he asked.

"Yeah…but good luck getting her out of there."

The other girls shortly arrived as Tact banged on the door. "Ranpha! Please let me in! Ranpha!"

"Ranpha's not coming out." Milfie said.

"She seemed considerably shocked." Mint added.

"What happened?" I asked.

"Oh, last night, Ranpha gave Tact a diary to exchange to each other and write down their feelings." Forte answered. "However because Tact was so tired, he fell asleep and wasn't able to write his thoughts in the diary."

I pondered for a second. "Well Tact, this is your chance to finally let out what I think you've been hiding for a long time."

"Yes, I know." Tact replied. "It's something I have to do myself. After all, the problem is that I didn't clarify how I feel."

"That's best. If a guy's in trouble with a girl, he's got to run his own show." Forte added.

"I got it! I'll get the exchange diary and clear up this misunderstanding. I'll be right back."

Tact ran away and a few minutes later he came back with the diary. "Arnold, I may have to take a page out of your words, but I think this will work."

"No arguments from me, friend." I replied.

"Ranpha, if you can hear me, please listen. When I'm with you, I think that I can tell you how I really feel."

I stood back and held Milfie's hand. She wrapped her free hand around my arm, we hoped for the best as Tact began to speak outside Ranpha's room.

"Dear Ranpha, there's only one thing I need to say to you. I love you, Ranpha. I love your smile. Your laughing face is like a sunflower in summer and makes me just to see it. I love your angry face. Even though you're scary when you're mad, my heart beats even faster when you return to being lovely."

Well, he wasn't wrong there, Ranpha can be quite imitating when angry.

Tact continued. "I love your crying face. When I see you crying, I know that I want to protect you so that you'll never have to cry again. We may part from each other, but that bond between us will never break. No, even if it does, I don't ever want to be apart from you!"

"Tact…" I heard her voice say.

"Laughing yelling, crying…whatever you're doing, I love you!"

"Say it…again."

"I love you!"

"Again!"

"I love you!"

"Hmm, why does this sound familiar?" I whispered to Milfie and she sniggered.

Then the door opened and Ranpha came out.

"Tact…I love you too." She said, walking towards him. "More than space roe, more than fortune telling, more than anything in the world, I love you!"

"Ranpha…thank you."

"What are you waiting for?" I asked them. "Embrace!"

Ranpha and Tact blushed…before giving in and wrapping each other a romantic hug, they held on to each other tight with smiles.

"Thank goodness." Milfie said as she hugged me.

"We'll also lend our support to the both of you." Mint added.

"There is now…two couples." Vanilla said.

"Yeah, first Arnold and Milfie and now Tact and Ranpha have found happiness." Forte added.

No more words were needed, Tact and Ranpha's embrace was a loving moment.

"Elsior has completed drive out." Almo's voice said on the speakers.

"Oh, is that time already?" Mint asked.

"By the way." Tact said, still hugging with Ranpha. "Arnold, we wanna thank you for giving us that push we needed."

"Yeah, you helped us to keep our hopes high." Ranpha added. "Thank you."

I smiled back with Milfie holding on to me. "It's alright, I was doing what I thought was right."

Suddenly, sirens went off…I knew our safety in normal space was too good to be true.

"Red alert, red alert!" Coco's voice exclaimed through the speakers. "Eonia's fleet confirmed directly ahead!"

"Oh come on." Forte moaned. "Those idiots have to interrupt such a heart-warming scene."

"Tact, did you hear that?" Lester asked. "Come to the bridge at once."

"Got it, I'm on my way." Tact replied. "Ranpha are you gonna be able to take off?"

"Leave it to me!" She said happily. "Today I'll be in absolutely top form. Watch me my darling!"

"M-my darling? Well, okay I guess…anyway, get ready for action. Everybody, get to it!"

I nodded and we all rushed to the hanger with Ranpha who straight away got into her frame, the rest of us got into ours as well. The hanger doors opened and we flew out into the open space.

Tact's face appeared on our screen with the radar.

"The enemy fleet consists of fighters, The Hell Hounds are back again…" Lester said. "…high-speed frigates and a Battlecruiser."

"I knew Sherry would be back." I replied. "Her ship will always be a threat to the Elsior."

Tact nodded. "Then we have one objective, eliminate the enemy flagship!"

"Nice and straightforward." Ranpha said. "Leave it to us!"

"However the frames don't have the wings this time." Lester warned. "They won't have the same increased power as before."

"Even so, we've beaten them every single time and we're still not going to lose." Forte replied.

"Until we reach the white moon, we will not be defeated." Mint added.

"I'm sure we can do it." Milfie assured. "Right, Tact?"

"Right, we'll definitely win." Tact replied.

The battle was about to start, but not before Sherry's face appeared on our screen, she must be trying to get a last word in.

"You won't get in Lord Eonia's way, you will fall, Elsior!" she boasted.

"Oh really?" I asked with a smirk. "Says the lady who's lost to us twice already."

"So they were waiting for us?" Tact asked. "Angel Wing, begin combat!"

We flew away and charged right at the hell hounds, with their being six of us, I flew around in a huge circle whilst the angels and the hell hounds brawled.

Ranpha had the upper hand thanks to Tact and one of the hell hounds was gone already. Then the others all took out a Hell Hound, forcing them to retreat.

"I'm all fired up!" Ranpha exclaimed.

"Ranpha, use your special attack on Sherry's flagship." I suggested. "That thing has got to go."

Ranpha nodded and her frame flew straight for the battlecruiser. "You've gone far enough! ANCHOR CLAW!"

That did it, the battlecruiser was grinding to a halt

"Keh!" I heard Sherry speak on our screen. "But I….for Lord Eonia's cause!"

"Enemy flagship defeated." Coco said.

"Good, let's get out of here and continue our journey to the White Moon." Tact replied.

"I'll get you, Ranpha Franboise!" Guinness yelled. "I will definitely beat you! Next time, you're mine!"

"Someone who says things like that will never win." Ranpha smirked. "In other words, that makes you a loser."

"What? I'm not being proud! I'm just not good at maths!"

"Tact, can we shoot him down?"

"I was just about to suggest that."

"Milfie, my honey." Camus spoke, not this stalker again. "Now that this battle is over, how would you like to be by my side with my love?"

"I will never be with you, ever!" Milfie exclaimed. "Tact, can I shoot this creep down too?"

"Dying here is not an option, Angel Wing." Camus dismissed. "The Hell Hounds must be going now. Until we meet again…adieu."

The fighters were leaving the combat area, suddenly I saw Sherry's battlecruiser moving again.

"Why is Sherry's ship moving, I thought we took it out?" I said with confusion.

"Wait, it looks like a suicide attack!" Forte replied. "Sherry is charging straight at the Elsior."

"I'm too far away to stop it." Mint added.

"It's moving too fast." Vanilla said.

I put on my serious face. "I'm the closest to it…"

"No!" she yelled on the monitor. "You will not get in the way of that man's dreams…fall Elsior! I'm taking you with me!"

I had been waiting for a chance to do this. "SPIKE DRIVER!" I yelled and my driller was spinning up and I charged at the Battlecruiser. Sherry noticed me coming, but it was too late…I had her beat.

"LORD EONIAAAAAAA!" Sherry screamed.

I rammed by drill right in the centre of the battlecruiser…it split open into two and as I drove away, it exploded…Sherry and her battlecruiser were gone for good.

"Battlecruiser destroyed for good." I said to everyone. "That's one less major threat out of the way."

"Arnold, you are a life saver." Tact praised. "Angel Wing, we're in your debt again."

"Now on to the White Moon before it's too late." Lester added.

The girls and I nodded, we flew back in to the Elsior and we resumed our journey to our destination, hoping we will get there before Eonia does.

As we got out of our frames, Tact arrived to see us.

"The Angel Wing just got back." Milfie said.

Just then, Ranpha ran to Tact and wrapped her arms around him. "Did you see me Tact? I was on top form thanks to your command. That's the power of love."

"Yeah that's right." Tact replied. "But seeing you safe is what makes me happiest."

Ranpha blushed, and she held on to him tighter.

"Kya! Ranpha, you're so bold!" Milfie said.

"Hey you two, aren't we friendly?" Forte asked.

"Very friendly." Vanilla added.

Tact was blushing. "This is kind of awkward, you don't need to talk about it."

"Even so, you look like you're going to lose your composure any minute now." Mint said.

"Get used to it, Tact." I laughed. "If I can get through the teasing, then you can as well."

Ranpha looked into Tact's eyes. "I tried my best for you."

"And I fought hard for your sake." He replied.

"I'm glad…oh and Milfie and Arnold, can we talk later?"

"Of course." Milfie replied.

"Alright Angel Wing, get some rest." Tact said. "Let's resume our journey to the White Moon."

We nodded and Milfie and I left the hanger with Tact and Ranpha. We walked into his commander's room. He and Ranpha sat on the bed with Ranpha sitting in front of him. Motioning me and Milfie to do the same.

Now both of us couples were on the bed, Tact's and my arms were wrapped around the stomachs of the girls we love. It was like a double date in a way.

"Isn't this like the best moment of the day?" I asked.

"Yep and it's thanks to you both." Tact replied. "Arnold, I don't think your little push to help me was intentional, but it absolutely worked."

"And Milfie, we've been through a lot of rough times." Ranpha said. "Mostly at my expense, but thanks to you and Arnold, I found my love and that is the best thing you have ever done for me."

Milfie and I blushed at the compliments.

"I don't say this often and not in front of the others, but I'm really happy to know you as my longest friend, Milfie."

"Awww thank you, Ranpha." Milfie replied as they held hands.

"So how will you both keep the love burning?" I asked.

"I know…Tact, shall we keep exchanging diaries?" Ranpha asked him.

"Of course." He replied to her.

"Will you enjoy eating my meals?"

"Definitely, for you."

"And shall we both dress the same?"

"Ehh!" Milfie exclaimed. "You're gonna dress the same?"

"Haha." I laughed. "Oh Milfie, a comedian as always."

"Milfie, you think I'm gonna dress as a woman?" Tact asked.

Milfie smiled. "Huh, you're not? I was thinking something strange then."

"But then again, it might unexpectedly suit you." I teased.

Ranpha seemed happy by it all. "Tact, want to try on my clothes?"

Tact was shocked. "P-please spare me."

We all then laughed, we couldn't help but tease them…what a day.


	10. White Side Of The Moon

White Side Of The Moon

A day had passed and we were currently in our frames, taking out small automated enemy fleets that tried to slow us down. It was rather easy, but we didn't let our guard down, we knew that a massive battle would be arriving soon.

Soon, we spotted something in the distance. A small white moon was within our sights.

I gasped. "That's the White Moon!"

"Thank goodness, the White Moon is still okay." Mint replied.

"We'll have to wait for the moment." Forte said.

"Why is that?" I asked.

"The moon is secured with a shield barrier that prevents all communications from being sent or received Not even Eonia's power can penetrate it, or so I've heard."

Then Tact's face came on our screens. "Yes, Tact."

"Withdraw and return to the Elsior, we'll be boarding at one of the White Moon's docks shortly."

"Acknowledged." Forte replied.

We returned to the Elsior and left our frames, we remained in the hanger until a gentle bump happened. The hanger doors opened and we could see a docking area. We walked down a newly opened stairway and off the Elsior. We were now standing on the White Moon and I was in awe. I had only seen pictures of this place, but I never thought I would be here in person.

Tact and Prince Shiva met up with us and we followed the Prince who knew the way and took us to a set of doors. We had to wait for a while for Lady Shatyarn to arrive.

Tact seemed in awe of the place too, but perhaps a little too enthusiastic. "I finally get to meet the Holy Mother of the White Moon. Getting to see her in person feels like a dream."

Not surprisingly, this made Ranpha feel funny about it. "What are you so restless for? You're starting to make me nervous."

"It's because Lady Shatyarn's the one who controls the Empire's Lost Technology and she's also a smart beautiful woman."

I tapped on his shoulder. "Don't push you luck, mister, you're taken now." I gently warned him.

"Quiet down, all of you." Shiva told us.

We remained quiet until a woman with cyan hair in a long white dress showed up.

"This seems like a very lively conversation." She said. "Am I interrupting you?"

Tact was star struck. "L-Lady Shatyarn! Um er, that's…

"Lady Shatyarn, it's good to see you again!" Shiva said happily.

"Prince Shiva, I'm so glad you were able to come back." Shatyarn replied.

Somehow, I wanted to intervene as I thought I heard that voice before.

"Pardon me for the interruption, Lady Shatyarn." I said. "But I recognize that voice from before."

"Do you now? Then I am glad that my thoughts were able to reach you."

I gasped. "So it was your voice I heard when I touched my Emblem Frame for the first time?"

"Yes, you must be Arnold Williams, the one who joined the Angel Wing some time ago. I am also aware of the achievements you have made, you are truly a special person."

I blushed. "T-thank you, Lady Shatyarn."

"Wow! What a compliment, Arnold." Milfie said.

"I see that the rest of the Angel Wing are doing well too. But now I must tell you all." Shatyarn said. "For protecting Prince Shiva up until now, I offer my sincere gratitude."

"No it was nothing." Tact replied. "Give your thanks to the Angel Wing."

"No…Tact lent us his power as well." Vanilla corrected.

"However…" Forte intervened. "Our reunion is not going to be a happy one."

Shatyarn felt concerned. "I had a feeling it would not be. The fight against Eonia is not over yet?"

"Correct." Shiva replied. "We have returned here seeking a way to defeat Eonia's forces."

"By chance, we learned an important secret related to the White Moon." Tact added. "We would like to ask you about it."

"I understand." Shatyarn replied. "Let's go inside and speak of it there."

Shatyarn opened the doors and we walked inside which was a huge throne room.

"From the data we found in the Elsior and Emblem Frames, we understand that there's a weapon for the Elsior here." Tact said. "We need that weapon to be able to beat the Black Moon. Does anything come to mind?"

"Is that so?" Shatyarn asked. "The hidden power of the Elsior and Emblem Frames."

"That weapon appears to be in an arms in the central portion of the White Moon." Mint said. "However, does the White Moon truly have a place like that?"

"And could you please tell us the secret about the Emblem Frame's hidden power, if that's okay." Milfie added.

"I understand, I suppose you have the right to know the truth." Shatyarn replied. "I know the secret of the Emblem Frame's power and where the weapon for the Elsior is being kept."

"R-really? Thank you!" Tact replied.

"I'll have the Elsior and Emblem Frames transported there too. Please follow me."

We left the throne room and as we walked onwards, she explained the following. There is a centre of the White Moon that represents its true nature. A huge automated factory where specialized weapons are made, it was where it all began.

We were given a history lesson about how The White Moon appeared with the goal to retrieve the Lost Technology follow the events that happened after the Chrono Quake six centuries ago. The Elsior and Emblem Frames were brought to the moon because they originated from here. I then wondered if there was any more Emblem Frames since mine had #8 on it. Maybe there is a #6 and #7 somewhere.

As more of the Lost Technology was recovered over the centuries, the White Moon's people forbade any normal person from accessing the lethal and automated weapons part of the moon, thus making the choice to use Lost Technology for peace and prosperity.

They hoped that part of the moon would never be used, until the Black Moon came along around the same time the White Moon had appeared, I was in shock at that point. The White Moon and the Black Moon are a pair, the only difference is the size of the moons.

As for how and why they were made, Lady Shatyarn didn't know the answers, but what she did know is that the Black Moon is seeking out the White Moon. That would explain how both of those moons can move freely. The desire of deep love and deep hatred, reaching out through the chaos…just like how Eonia feels.

But then came the bombshell as we looked around the automated productions.

"Five years ago, Eonia was chased and banished from to the frontier." Shatyan said. "But the reason is not well known. I believe that he showed a huge interest in the Lost Technology."

"I see, so Eonia is after the White moon." Tact replied. "And he's using the Black Moon to get to here and obtain it."

"We must avoid that at all costs." Forte said. "That man has already done such atrocious things with just the Black Moon."

"So the Black Moon is on its way then?" I asked.

"That's right, we have to get ready here as soon as possible." Tact replied. "Elsior, please respond. What's the remaining time before Eonia's fleet arrives?"

"I'm calculating the time remaining." Coco said. "They shall arrive by 1200 tomorrow."

"The final battle is tomorrow then…I doubt Commodore Luft's fleet will make it in time."

"There's no need to start worrying." Ranpha assured. "We'll take it down, even if it's just us!"

"We will do our best to do all we can." Vanilla added.

"That's right, were six of the strongest pilots in the galaxy." I boasted. "We can overcome this battle."

"Please allow me to do something as well." Shatyarn said. "I will remove the limits on your Emblem Frames so that you will be ready to fight against Eonia."

"That means our Emblem Frames will have wings." Forte added. "Eonia's fleet doesn't have a chance."

"And the Chrono Break Cannon will be installed on the Elsior."

"Chrono break cannon?" Tact asked. "That was what we saw in the weapons data?"

"It is, or more accurately, I am returning it to the Elsior to restore it to the way that it was discovered."

"So in other words. It was removed because it's too powerful?" I asked.

"Yes, if Lost Technology is in the wrong hands, it can cause a horrifying calamity. You have seen that with your own eyes."

"Fargo…and Rhome…"

"Now, get some rest to prepare yourselves for tomorrow. The tide of the battle depends on you."

We nodded in agreement as we left the White Moon and boarded back to the Elsior. Prince Shiva decided to stay on the White Moon so he would be safe from harm.

I was in a huge amount of thought for the rest of the day. I think everyone else is too, but we were completely safe for now, since the Elsior was still docked on the White Moon.

It was the evening time and after my dinner in the cafeteria, I went to look for Milfie. It had been a few days since she and I had any alone time together.

"Hmm, where would she be if she was in thought?" I asked myself. "Oh that's right, the park. I'll go there now."

I walked to the park and it was night time, even though the evening sky I saw seeing were the stars in space. I walked over to the kafukafu tree and there she was, leaning on the tree root.

"Hi Milfie." I said.

She turned around. "Oh, hi Arnold."

"Thinking about tomorrow?"

"Yeah, I don't know if I could sleep."

"I feel the same way, a whole lot is hanging in the balance for tomorrow's big battle."

"But it's not just us, everyone's future is at stake…I'm just worried that we might not make it."

"Don't say things like that, Milfie." I put my arm around her waist. "Cause there's one other thing I didn't confess to you when I told you my feelings over a week ago."

She looked at me, those eyes of hers… "When you first said you love me. What is it?"

"You're my goddess of luck." I smiled.

Milfie blushed. "I'm a goddess?"

"Yes, I think we're gonna need some luck to get through this one, just in case. As long as you're with me and everyone else, I believe we'll come out on top and win."

Milfie was blushing, but she smiled happily. "In that case…Arnold, your my god of hope. When you're around, you give everyone hope and during battles, you inspire the rest of us to be stronger, you are the best!"

I put both my arms around her and she placed hers on my shoulders.

"Then tomorrow, I'm going to fight and win this battle for the girl I love."

"And I'm going to do the same, I'll fight for the man I love and that is you."

"Ahhh my Milfie…"

"My Arnold…"

We shared a passionate kiss underneath the tree, we weren't worried anymore. We were ready for tomorrow. I wonder if Tact and Ranpha are ready as well…

The next day had arrived, everyone had their determined faces on. The Elsior had left the White Moon and we were strapped into our Emblem Frames. An extra team of workers were in the hanger, they were working as fast as they could to install and power up the Chrono Break Cannon, hoping that would take out the Black Moon.

The hanger doors opened as we heard that Eonia's primary fleet had arrived, good thing I had my lunch early before this started.

Tact's face appeared on our screens. "Our Elsior and frames are here in the bottom." Lester said as the radar appeared. "Eonia's fleet is north of our position. There are carriers, high-speed frigates, missile frigates and those five fighters."

"The Hell Hounds again…how many times do we have to face those guys?" I asked.

"And finally, this huge battleship here. This is Eonia's flagship."

"We finally get to face him head on." Tact said. "This is the first time that we'll be able to attack him directly and it'll be the last…no! Not just him, those fighters and the automated fleet, we'll take them all down! Angels, you ready to go?"

"As ready as I'll ever be!" I replied.

"Leave it to us, with our wings, we can't lose." Milfie said.

"We've come this far, there's nothing left but to win." Mint added.

"This'll be the last chance to run wild!" Forte said.

"We will definitely not lose." Vanilla added.

"Let's go Tact, you don't need to worry about me at all." Ranpha said. "After what you did yesterday, I'm full of energy."

"Huh, what happened?" Milfie asked.

"Hehehehe, you know, actually…"

"Wha! That'll have to wait until the fight is over." Tact intervened, real smooth, Tact. "Angel Wing, engage!"

"Yes sir!" We all replied as we moved and flew out in a formation in front of the Elsior.

By my calculations there were 18 targets in front of us. This was going to be brutal!

"Angel Wing, we've been through a lot together." Tact said. "And we've made this far thanks you, we're all in your debt. Now let the final battle begin, let's crush Eonia's fleet!"

The battle started and the Hell Hounds were the fastest to clash into us. "Girls, deal with the Hell Hounds, those high-speed frigates are mine."

I flew away from the group and got one of the frigates in my sights, I released my gattling guns and heat seeker missiles and the first high-speed frigate went down. My spirit level reached to max already.

"SPIKE DRIVER!" I yelled, ramming right into the second high-speed-frigate, one less ship to worry about. Now for the third one and it was closing on the Elsior. "Oh no you don't!" I caught up to it and unleashed my main attacks, destroying it completely.

I went for a quick resupply from the Elsior and turned around to see the Angels all successfully take out the Hell Hounds, they retreated yet again…next time, we'll finish them off permanently.

"Alright girls, now for those missile frigates. Those carriers and the flagship will be within our range soon."

"Let's form a pair and take them out." Forte said.

Milfie and I paired up and took out a missile frigate easily.

Vanilla did some damage on the second one whilst Ranpha went for it. "ANCHOR CLAW!"

That's the second down... "FLIER DANCE!" I heard mint yell, taking the third one out.

"Angels, regroup together and let's concentrate all our attacks on the flagship." Forte said. "Then we'll deal with the carriers one by one."

We all nodded in agreement as we flew close and charged at Eonia.

"I'm done holding back now….STRIKE BURST!"

A massive array of missiles came out from Forte's frame and Eonia's flagship received major damage…it suddenly retreated! No way, that flagship can escape like that too?

But we didn't have time to ponder, those carriers mean business and we each took out one successfully, what a battle that was, seeing that there no more enemies present.

"Enemy flagship and the fighters are retreating." Coco said.

"We took out the automated ships, but we couldn't get the important guys." Lester said.

"We're not letting him go!" Tact replied. "Follow Eonia."

We regrouped at the Elsior to resupply and we were all ready to rumble again. Suddenly, footage of one of the Hell hounds frames appeared on our screens.

"What the…" I said as it changed into a more menacing looking frame…with wings! "But…why do I also feel cold?"

"The pilots inside them…it feels weird." Milfie replied.

"There are life signs detected in the fighters but…" Mint said.

"But…I think the people inside…are already dead, or maybe not human anymore..." Ranpha added.

"Their souls have been lost to them..." Vanilla said. "Our Emblem Frames are telling us this."

"Those guys…they've been swallowed by the machines." Forte added. "It's horrifying!"

"Damm…" I replied. "To think there's Lost Technology used like that…Tact, it's your call."

Tact showed up on our screens. "There's nothing else we can do…with the way they are now, they can no longer retreat. Shoot them down, make sure this is the last time we face them."

"Yes, sir!" The angels replied.

"Arnold, I need you to be our guard in case those fighters whoosh past any of the girls."

"Since they'll be coming straight at the Elsior." I replied. "I got it Tact. I'll hold back and protect the Elsior."

"Thank you, then we must defeat the man who would do something like this!"

The second battle started and I piloted my frame around the Elsior, protecting it at all costs whilst the five girls went straight for the Hell Hounds. On my radar, they were moving faster than before, I really hoped Milfie would be okay.

So far, things were alright, Ranpha took out Guinness first, looks like he finally met his match against his powerful rival. Red Eye was the second to fall and his frame exploded, he'll be enjoying his eternal rest now. Riserva was shot down next, so much for being the chosen one and then Vermouth was eliminated. Guess he was the one who got twisted up and destroyed in the end.

That left one Hell Hound…Camus and he was coming straight at the Elsior.

"Arnold, I can't catch up with him and my hyper cannon missed!" Milfie exclaimed. "You need to stop him!"

"I've got it!" I replied, moving away from the Elsior and charging at Camus. He was faster than before and his attack packed quite a punch.

"Argh!" I exclaimed, trying to regain control of my frame. "Damn, he's desperate to take me down with him!"

"Don't worry Arnold, I'm coming!" Ranpha replied. "Got you, Camus, you leave my friends alone!"

"Thanks Ranpha…now I can use my special." I had him in my sights, ready for the final blow. "Alright Camus, feel the power of my and Milfie's love…SPIKE DRIVER!"

I rammed my driller right into the frame, direct hit, sawing the fighter in two…and then exploding…Camus fought to the bitter end, but it's over, no more honey calls from him.

I sighed. "So long, Hell Hounds, you were worthy adversaries."

"Enemy fighters eliminated." Coco said.

"We finally beat them for good…but why does it feel like this?" Lester asked.

"We won, but I feel sick about it…" Tact replied. "Angels, I just got word from Creta, the Chrono Break Cannon is charged up and ready to fire. Retreat to the Elsior and get out of range!"

"Yes, sir!" We replied, flying out of the Elsior's way to safety.

We flew behind the Elsior and watched as the cannon began to charge up…a huge beam suddenly exploded from the cannon and surged right at Eonia's flagship.

*BOOOOOOOM*

We opened our eyes and saw pieces of the flagship remaining…we did it! Eonia is gone, killed by the powers of Lost Technology, a fitting end for such a strong villain.

"Desperately looking for something that has been lost…" Forte said. "The tragedy of a man committed to his distorted ideals."

"However…the tragedy is over." Vanilla replied.

"The other automated ships seem to have also stopped moving." Mint added.

"Yeah! We've won!" Tact said.

"But the Chrono Break Cannon was really powerful!" Milfie exclaimed. "I was so surprised!"

"But you could only shoot it down because we cleared all the enemies around here." Ranpha added. "Make sure to give us a bonus for that."

"But what about the Black Moon?" I asked. "Why does it still look active?"

"Hehehehehehehehe…" a low voice laughed.

Looks like taking out Eonia has not eliminated the threat, so much for a victory party.


	11. Angels To The Core

Angels To The Core

The Black Moon started to move and several satellites began to appear around it, forming a 360 degree defensive line.

"I must express my admiration for humanity." It spoke. "It has mastered the Frames HALO system and destroyed my greatest masterpieces."

"That voice." Tact said. "It's coming from ahead somewhere."

"The White Moon and humanity seem to have advanced more than I anticipated. But thanks to that, I was able to evolve as well."

"What is he talking about?" I asked.

"Humanity is truly interesting. With my ability, I built that interface and was allowed anywhere. However if not Eonia's naivety, I would not have been able to find the White Moon. I must thank him for that."

"Wait, so Eonia was the puppet all along?"

"He was quite a useful man, he believed whatever I told him and worked hard."

"And who the blazes are you?" Tact asked.

"I am the Black Moon!"

Tact looked shocked on my screen. "What, that star has its own free will?"

"I have not forgotten you, White Moon. You and I are twin stars."

"This is…insane!" I muttered.

"Now White Moon. I will fulfil the purpose that we were both made for! I will become one with you and evolve even further! Hahahahahahahahaha!"

The Black moon began to move towards the White Moon, comparing the size, the Black Moon was bigger and there were massive beam sparks coming from it as it got close to the White Moon.

"The Black Moon's...transforming." Milfie said.

"That's not all, the White Moon's getting pulled out of orbit." Ranpha added.

"There's a strong reaction between the White and Black Moons." Mint said, appearing on my screen. "They're being drawn to each other."

"I don't know, but I've got a bad feeling about this." Forte said.

"Is Lady Shatyarn going to be safe?" Vanilla asked.

"We have to believe that they will." I replied. "Tact, we can't sit here. We need to know what we must do."

Tact returned on our screens. "Our objective is to destroy the red crystal in the centre of the Black Moon. That's its core and if we could get close to it, we may have a shot at it, but…"

"The satellites?"

"Yes…" a radar appeared. "…we're here in the far bottom left. Our target destination is the top right. Angel Wing, destroy the satellites that are in our way. We need you to clear a path for the Elsior."

"That's the best course of action." I replied.

"Angel Wing are you ready?"

"Of course we're ready…darling." Ranpha replied with a wink.

"We will obey whatever orders you give." Vanilla added.

"The Angel Wing's not about to back down here." Forte said. "Leave it to us to get it done."

"That's right and this time, we'll put an end to this fight." Mint added.

"That what all of us have been fighting for. Let's go Tact!" Milfie said.

"Okay, Angel wing, engage!" Tact said.

"Yes sir!" we replied.

There was nothing more to say, the true final battle had begun. We split into two groups to take out the first two satellites that were close to the Elsior. They packed quite punch took quite a beating, but Ranpha's anchor claw tore one down and my spike driver, pierced the second one in half.

The Elsior had some breathing space now and we focused on the middle satellite as one and thanks to our combined attacks, it didn't last long and it fell easily.

As time went on and after we took out a fourth satellite, enemy ships suddenly appeared, then allied reinforcements arrived to stop them. That should keep the enemy ships off our backs. However, a high-speed frigate slipped by and was coming for the Elsior.

I broke away from the angels and retreated back as quick as possible to take out the frigate. Then a missile frigate slipped by as well, however my spirit level was full.

"SPIKE DRIVER!" I yelled, ramming my drill into the frigate and it was out of here.

Meanwhile, the angels had worked together to eliminate four more satellites in the fourth and final attack row. The way to the Black Moon was now clear for the Elsior to move closer. We had to wait for a moment since the Elsior was a bit slow.

"Good!" Lester said. "We've reached the target area."

"Take aim at the Black Moon!" Tact added. "Good work Angel Wing. Now leave it to us."

"Alright Tact, we've done our part." I replied. "It's up to you now."

However, just as we began to fly well back and watch, the Black Moon began to speak.

"Why..." it spoke on a low tone. "Why do the children of the White Moon oppose me? I only want to become one with the White Moon. Why is the White Moon not accepting me? You and I are twin stars. Has the White Moon changed in the time we were apart? Or did I make a mistake in my evolution? No...I did not make a mistake. I am correct. Absolutely correct! The White Moon is the mistaken one! Unite with me and correct your evolution! And if you refuse...then you will die!"

Suddenly, the Black Moon turned it's focus to the Elsior...and it rallied all of it's automated fleet to attack the ship, oh this just got freaking bad! After taking several shots, the Elsior began to smoke up a little, especially around the bridge area...oh crap...please be alright, Tact. Suddenly, I saw the Kung-Fu Fighter zoom into motion.

"I WILL NEVER FORGIVE YOU!" Ranpha yelled as she flew onwards. Her unmatched speed was evading all of the attacks and unleashing everything she had in her arsenal, the remaining satellites were completely wiped out...unbelievable, she had eliminated them all with one strike! Then communications with the Elsior were back online.

"Commander Mayers, the Chrono Break Cannon is fully charged again." Coco said.

Tact nodded. "It ends here…" The Black Moon was now in range of the Elsior as we flew behind it to take cover. "FIRE!"

The huge beam surged from the cannon as it did before and it attacked the red crystal, seconds later, the black moon stopped moving and it began to explode in places...

*BOOOOOOOOM*

We watched in awe as the Black Moon was split in two and completely crumbled away…now, it was over. The Black Moon was gone and we had saved the White Moon.

"Now…we can finally return to our peaceful days." I said.

"I was about to say that." Mint replied. "Did you read my mind?"

"That wasn't my intention, I swear."

"Good grief, even after a battle like that, we still find time to joke around." Forte said.

"This fight is finally over." Vanilla added.

"Did you see me Tact? I was amazing!" Ranpha exclaimed happily.

"Yeah I did, you were the best out there." Tact replied.

"Thank you, my darling."

"Ahem." Forte intervened. "I'm so sorry for interrupting one of our two hot couples here, but shouldn't we get going?"

"Which other couple are you referring to?" I asked with raised eyebrows.

Milfie laughed. "Hahaha! Oh you, Arnold."

"Everybody great work." Tact said. "Let's return to the White Moon."

"We'll continue that once we get back, Tact." Ranpha replied.

We flew back to the White Moon and boarded our frames in the Elsior. What a moment to live for, we had saved countless and future lives as well as the Transbaal Empire. With Eonia gone, Shiva would have to take the reign as the new Emperor of Transbaal and with the main threat gone, I did wonder, where do we go from here? We were standing in the space port lobby where the Elsior was docked, the Emblem Frames however were separated from each other, except for one Kung-Fu Fighter that was inside the Elsior's hanger.

Tact explained that he had now been put in charge as commander of the newly formed frontier research team and that we Angels were order to remain on the White Moon, helping to find more Lost Technology. Luft was promoted to Admiral of the military forces. So we had to say goodbye to Tact as he would be leaving with Lester on the Elsior, but with one other bit of news that would make him happy, Ranpha was going with him.

"It's leaving soon." Milfie said, holding my hand. "Tact, thank you for everything up to now. It was really fun being with you, don't forget us while you're out surveying the frontier."

"I would like to thank you as well, Tact." Mint added. "You reminded me that there are people in the world like you, who are not bound by the normal laws of common sense."

"Uhh, thank you." Tact replied.

"I don't get going all the way out to the frontier to look for Lost Technology." Forte said. "But you must really enjoy your work."

Tact smiled. "I made it this far, thanks to you. I owe you so much for when you helped me with my command."

"Thank you for your kindness, Tact." Vanilla said.

"Take care of yourself, Vanilla. I'm glad to have helped you change."

"Yes. While I was with you, I may have changed, little by little."

I stepped forward. "I wanna thank you as well, Tact." I added. "If it hadn't been for you seeing what potential I really had, I would still be a maintenance crew worker, pondering over what could've been."

He shook my hand. "Well I wanna thank you as well, Arnold. You've become a very good friend, I'm sure you'll take good care."

"It's also thanks to your command and belief that I was able to find my confidence and find happiness with the girl I love."

Milfie blushed.

"Speaking of which, it's time for the Elsior to go…let's go Ranpha." Tact said.

Ranpha held his hand. "Yeah, I'm so happy to be going with you." She then looked at me. "Arnold, please take care of Milfie while I'm away."

"Um Tact, please take care of Ranpha." Milfie said. "I'm worried that she'll get into trouble without me keeping an eye on her."

"More like the opposite! Aren't I the one who always has to keep you out of trouble?"

"Not at all, I've always been following after you…"

"Now look here you…you…"

"Ow, stop it Ranpha!"

"Shouldn't we tell them to stop?" Vanilla asked.

"Leave them be." Forte replied. "They're not gonna be able to do this for a while."

"That's right, let them do it as much as they like." Mint added.

"Tact, it's going to be time to go soon." Lester said. "By the way, Arnold. I had my doubts about you a long time ago. But right now, I can stand here and say that you've become a great guy. You're definitely worthy to be part of the Angel Wing."

"Wow, a compliment from Lester." Tact commented. "Where's my praise?"

"What are you talking about, Tact? Anyways, I'm leaving now."

Tact shook his head. "Okay, this is goodbye for now."

"I look forward to the day that we can meet again." Vanilla replied.

"It may be difficult, but I'm sure the two of you together can handle it." Forte said. "So do everything you can."

"Ranpha, Tact, I wish you happiness." Mint added.

Milfie was back in my arms as Ranpha held onto to Tact.

"Everybody, thank you. Thanks to all of you, I found happiness with Tact!" Ranpha said, proudly.

"Okay, we're off." Tact added.

We waved to them as Tact and Ranpha walked off hand in hand.

"It's quite funny how fate tends to play out like this from time to time." I said. "Going from a maintenance crew worker to Angel Wing pilot to being one part of the heroes of the galaxy is one of a kind."

"But you know, there's still a few things we haven't taught you yet." Forte said.

"Oh yeah, what's that?"

"How to help us find a boyfriend." Mint replied.

I jumped back "Ehhh?!"

"Girls, please don't tease him like that." Milfie moaned.

"We were only joking, Milfie." Forte assured. "We're just wondering when are we gonna find boyfriends of our own."

"Maybe Arnold can help us find…what the others call love." Vanilla added.

"Well put it this way, girls." I replied. "How you find a relationship is down to you. I'm not gonna be your personal dating service."

The girls laughed, apart from Milfie who hugged me. "Don't listen to them, you'll always be the man that I love." She then kissed me.

"Oh my!" Mint teased. "Kissing in front of us?"

"Very lovey dovey." Vanilla added.

I was blushing in bright red. "Come on girls, give me a break here."

"Haha!" Forte laughed. "Well Tact's away so we need another guy to joke with, get used to it. You'll be going through this for a long while."

"Don't worry Arnold." Milfie said. "We'll go on a vacation, because I love you."

"Really, you would do that for us?" I asked.

"Yeah, I'll follow you wherever you go."

Milfie and I went into a loving hug as the other girls went to get drinks. I didn't need to worry about the future. Right now, I had my best friends, I had my wonderful girlfriend and I had my kick-ass Emblem Frame. There was nothing else that I wanted in that moment…because I…was happy.

THE END!

* * *

 **StevieBond: Whew! I FINALLY got this story done! Well that was a long journey, but I hope you enjoyed reading this. Time will tell if I'll do another one.**


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